Identical Doesn't Exist
by MoonDragonLove
Summary: She became their first friend at age five. What caused them to decide to cut her out of their life seven years later? Now in high school, as different reasons bring her to the host club, will their friendship return or will hostilities increase?
1. They Don't Have Cooties

**Full summary...**

**Chise Mazawa became their first and only friend. She could tell them apart, it was a talent of hers really, telling things -and people- apart from another seemingly identical thing or person. At only age five, she was the only one that saw them as different people and not only "The Hitachiin Twins". What caused them to one day decide that they didn't want her in their lives anymore? Not even she knows for sure. They haven't said a willing word to each other since that day in middle school. Now in high school, not only is she in the same homeroom as they are, but she also has to see them when her friends drag her to the Host Club. Will things be able to go back to how they had been all those years ago or will the muted hostility between them increase?**

* * *

"Chise, I know you're going to get along with them just fine," my mom said as I gripped her hand. She was making me go along with her to her friend's party; and she wanted me to play with her friend's sons. Apparently they were my age.

"But Mama, they're boys," I whispered to her. She laughed and gave my hand a squeeze. We were walking along a path that led around the huge mansion to the backyard.

"They don't have cooties, trust me."

I looked up at her, she looked down at me and smiled. I always wished I could be like my mom. "Promise?" She nodded and linked her pinky with mine. I smiled and let out a laugh. We rounded a corner and the backyard came into view. There were more people than I thought there would be, I took a small step closer to my mom. She placed her hand on the back of my head in a reassuring manor.

She led me over to a woman that was tall and had spiky orange hair. "Yuzuha, thank you so much for inviting us," Mom said to the woman.

The woman laughed, "No need to be so formal Midori, we've known each other for what? Eighty years now?" Both she and my mom laughed as they took each other into a hug. For a split second, I was left out in the open. I quickly grabbed on to the hem of my mom's light green dress. "This must be Chise," she said as they released each other. She looked at me, "I haven't seen you since Takai was born." She knelt down in front of me until we were eye level. "I'm Yuzuha Hitachiin." She held out her hand to me.

Hesitantly, I accepted the outstretched hand. "Thank you for inviting us," I said shyly. She smiled and I heard my mom say that I was shy around new people, but I warmed up quickly. Mrs. Hitachiin seemed like a nice person, maybe what Mom had said was true. Maybe I would warm up to her. She stood back up and began talking to Mom about something, I think it had something to do with their new summer line. They were both fashion designers, partners actually. As they spoke, I continued clutching Mom's dress.

Two orange-haired identical boys came up to us and gently tugged on Mrs. Hitachiin's dress to get her attention. She looked down at them and her face lit up with a loving smile. Were these the boys Mom was talking about? She never mentioned that they were identical. Mom Knelt down, much as Mrs. Hitachiin had to me, and said, "You boys certainly have grown since I saw you last."

Neither of them returned her smile. I had never seen someone look sad as my mom smiled at them, but they did. "It's only been two weeks," the boy on the left said.

Mom laughed, "I know." She gently took my hand and pulled me closer to the identical boys. The thing I've noticed about identicalness, is that it doesn't exist. No two things are completely the same. No two people. "This is my daughter, Chise," she said as she presented me to them.

I hated that she made me put on a dress for this party. I hated that the dress was white and pink. I hated that Mom had curled my dark brown hair and then tied the curls into pigtails that fell over the front of my shoulders with pink ribbons. I hated that I had to be here with people I didn't know when Dad and Takai got to stay home. Despite all of that, I smiled at the seemingly sad boys.

Our moms walked away, telling us to play nice as they did so. I wanted to follow my mom and not leave her side, but at the same time I had to show her that I was a big girl. I looked at the boys, they were holding onto each others hand and looking at me. "Hi. What are your names?"

They looked at each other, almost as if they had to make sure who was who before answering. "I am Kaoru," the boy on the right said.

"And I am Hikaru," the boy that had spoken to Mom earlier and stood on the left said. Neither of them said anything else, so I knew I had to fill the silence that hung between the three of us.

"How old are you guys?" I asked making sure to look them both in the eye. That's what Dad always told me to do, look people in the eye when I spoke to them, it showed respect and politeness.

"Five," they answered together. Again, they said nothing else. I was tempted to just walk away from them, but Mom would be disappointed if I did that.

Then I thought of something. "We should play tag!" I suggested excitedly. They didn't exactly share my enthusiasm, but they agreed nonetheless.

* * *

I ran through the front gates of Ouran Academy. I had overslept again! I blame my parents for never teaching me the value of an alarm clock! Okay, not really. I heard the late bell ring as I passed by the main office. There was still quite a ways to go until I got to the first year wing. The morning announcements began and when I had finally made it to the door of my homeroom class, they had ended. I opened the door. "I am not late I swear!"

Mr. Akimoto sighed from his desk. "Tardy again Miss Mazawa."

I shook my head. "You see, I was on my way to school this morning -I had even left early- and there was this little boy. He was probably five and he was holding a red balloon, then a huge gust of wind came out of no-"

"And you just had to replace the lost balloon of the brokenhearted little boy. You used that one last month," Mr. Akimoto said, interrupting my excuse.

I frowned and let out an exasperated sigh. "The balloon was blue last month…" I mumbled.

"Just take your seat Miss Mazawa." I nodded and made my way to the seat that I was always late for. I'll never understand why Mr. Akimoto cares so much that I'm late, it's just homeroom, it's not like we do anything important. I sat down in my chair and crossed my arms over my chest.

"Why don't you just wake up earlier?"

I turned around to face the person that sat directly behind me, Haruhi Fujioka. I had, on many occasions, used him to vent about whatever was on my mind. Waking up late being a very common topic. I sighed. "Believe me, I've tried. This morning, I actually did get up early, but I fell asleep at the breakfast table."

He raised an eyebrow. "You fell asleep, while eating?" I nodded in confirmation. The Hitachiins that sat on either side of him leaned closer to hear our conversation. That was my cue to turn back around.

* * *

**Howdy people of this large mostly water covered world! Yes, I have once again started another story when I have many incompleted already, BUT I am determined to finish this one xD**

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	2. Exactly What Type?

I offered to be "it" first and they began running away from me, both heading in the same direction. I went after Kaoru first. My parents always bragged about how well I could see the differences between things. Honestly, I only knew who he was because they were still on the same sides of each other that they had been on when they said their names. I reached my hand out and touched the back of his shoulder. "You're it Kaoru!"

They stopped running and looked at me. I could practically see them both mentally shrug whatever had confused them off. Kaoru turned toward his twin and began chasing him around the backyard. It didn't take me long to realize that they weren't even including me anymore. I wonder what it's like to be a twin?

Hikaru was it now. I tried to rejoin the game by taking Kaoru's hand. I pulled him farther away from the house and closer to the actually party. "Hikaru won't be able to catch up as easily now," I said to him.

"How do you know that's Hikaru?" He asked as I pulled him under a table to hide. I looked as his golden eyes and smiled.

"I've just been paying attention." For the first time, I saw him smile. The tablecloth lifted up and Hikaru appeared.

"We're playing tag, not hide-and-seek," he said as he crawled under the table. He looked at his twin that was literally a mirror image of him. My eyes trailed over the two of them together. The only visible difference was their hair. The parts were different, but other than that, I knew I wouldn't be able to tell them apart the next time I saw them.

"I'm sorry Hikaru, I guess I just get bored easily."

* * *

The whistle was blown and the four of us were off. We pumped our arms and moved our legs as fast as humanly possible. This is what I live for; the feeling of my muscles working, the wind blowing my dark hair back, the sweat glistening on my body. I loved all of it. I never paid any attention to the people around me when I was running; not my opponents, not the cheering fans. Just me.

The whistle blew again. "Alright girls!" Coach called. "Gather 'round."

Coach Hayata was still young. She had only graduated from Ouran herself two years ago. She used her spare time to coach both the track and cross country team. It made me glad that they weren't during the same season. Coach had medium length black hair that she almost always wore tied up in a ponytail and hidden away under a baseball cap. She wasn't tall, either, but every girl on the team knew not to make her angry or we would all regret it in the morning.

"This weekend is our first meet of the season. Don't worry too much about it, just try and do your best. That's what it's meant for; to get you girls back into the swing of things." Coach looked around at the faces of her team. "Where is Senmatsu?" Everyone shrugged. I had an inkling as to where she was, I raised my hand. "Do you know, Mazawa?"

I nodded, "I think so. Do you want me to go get her?" Coach nodded and I was off to the interior of the school.

I had only ever heard of the Host Club, but never had I actually been there. And for good reasons. I knew that it was in the third music room, so when I passed the second, I hoped I couldn't be far. I jogged through the halls until I saw the sign I was looking for. I stopped at the doors and placed my hand on the knob. I opened the door and when a blast of cool air and rose petals hit me, I was glad that I had decided to put on my hoodie before entering the school.

Around the room sat various girls; some I knew, some I didn't. Among them were seven guys. Three of which I knew. A tall blond with violet-blue eyes knelt before me and took my hand in his. "Sweet princess, allow me to welcome you to the Host Club as I notice this is your first visit." He lifted my hand to his lips and placed a small kiss upon it. "I am Tamaki Suoh, king of this host club."

I nodded slightly, subtly trying to get him to let go of my hand. "I was actually lo-"

"Ah, yes. Exactly what type are you looking for?" He asked. It took all I had not to roll my eyes at him as he stood up, but refused to release his hold on my hand. He gestured to himself, "There is the princely type, such as myself." I really had to hold back my laugh there. "Or, the cool type?" He gestured to a guy that had black hair and glasses that was sitting in front of a laptop. He looked up and gave me a smile and a small nod. "The boy-Lolita type?" He gestured to a small blond boy that was eating cake as the girls around him watched with adoration. He looked up and bounced over to me.

"Hi! I'm Mitsukuni Haninozuka, but you can call me Honey. What's your name?" He asked me. Nothing about this guy gave off the air of a high school student. Elementary definitely, but not high school.

"Um, I'm Chise Mazawa."

His eyes widened slightly and his smile widened as I said my name. "From the cross country team?" He asked.

I nodded. "At least, that's what my sweatshirt says," I said as I pointed to my hoodie,

Tamaki continued on with pointing out the others as Honey went back to his table. "Then there's the wild type?" He pointed to the large guy that was sitting next to Honey. He looked over and gave a very slight nod, I almost thought I had imagined it. "The natural type?" He gestured to Haruhi. He looked up and waved to me.

"Hey Chise, long time no see," he said with a laugh. I waved back and smiled.

"How about the little devil type?" He gestured to the two red-heads that I didn't want to see. They looked up, just as the others had, but didn't do much else. They remembered exactly what happened, just as I do.

Before he could say anymore, I held up a finger to stop him and I pulled my hand out of his grasp. "Actually, I just came to see if Izumi Senmatsu was here. Coach was wondering why she wasn't at practice." Her usually smiling face appeared next to Tamaki, only she looked more worried than anything.

"I'm so sorry Chise! I lost track of time. Did Coach seem upset?" I placed my hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, Izumi. I think she was just curious, but if she was mad, we'll all hate you tomorrow." She looked into my eyes and knew exactly what I had meant. If anyone missed practice or was late, we usually had to run laps until Coach said stop. Sometimes those laps lasted a long time.

"We all know that you have been the hated one more than once."

I laughed and agreed. "Very true. So come on." Izumi looked back at the hosts and said good-bye to all of them. We linked arms and skipped the whole way to the track.

"You should go with me tomorrow," Izumi said after our fifteen minutes of extra laps. We actually got off easily. Coach must have really been in a good mood today.

We were in the showers in the locker room and I had just began to shampoo my hair. "Go with you where?" I heard her laugh as though that had been the craziest question I could have come up with. "I'm serious Izumi."

"You can't be!"

I rinsed out the sudsy shampoo and opened my eyes. "But I am. I have no idea what you're talking about."

"The host club! You have to go with me. If you don't I'll be late again tomorrow and who knows what kind of a mood Coach'll be in then."

I sighed. I loved Izumi. She's my best friend, but she just doesn't understand that I don't want to be in the same room as those twins that she's so infatuated with longer than I have to be. I shut off the water and wrapped a towel around myself as I stepped out of the shower stall. "Why would I want to do that?"

"Because you don't want to run until your legs fall off?" I put my hand on my hip and stared at her. "Okay, you would want to do that. How about, because you know you're secretly curious."

"But I'm really not."

"Please Chise?" She begged. "I'm not above getting on my knees to plead."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine, but only so you won't be late again." She smiled and opened her locker to get her clothes.

"You won't regret that decision, I promise."

* * *

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	3. Thankfully Cold Tea

Mom started taking me with her whenever she went to see Mrs. Hitachiin from that point on. I didn't mind at all anymore. Especially since she stopped making me wear dresses since I "accidentally" ruined the white one by sitting on the ground. "Chise, we're going to the Hitachiins' for dinner tonight," Mom said to me through my bedroom door. "Wear something nice."

"Okay Mama!" I put down my pencil, I had been writing all of the differences between Hikaru and Kaoru down in a list. It's just something I've always done. I stuck the paper and pencil into a drawer in my desk and skipped over to my closet. I wanted to wear a skirt and a t-shirt, so that's what I decided on.

I ran down the stairs and right into my dad's back. He turned around and picked me up. "And where are you going in such a hurry?" He asked with a chuckle and a smile. I hugged my dad around his neck.

"I'm going to Hikaru and Kaoru's for dinner!" I answered excitedly. He placed his hand on the back of my head.

"But your hair is a mess." He attempted to run his fingers through the nappy mess that I called hair. "Did you even try to brush it?" I looked down and shook my head. He sighed and started back up the stairs.

What felt like a week later, we were finally at the dinner table. We were having some sort of pasta type thing. "Hikaru, can you pass the butter please?" I asked while looking at the twin I was speaking too. Whenever I called them by their name, they always looked surprised. And a very small smile would appear.

"Takai! Don't throw your noodles," Mom scolded my little brother. He was four, but not everyone would guess that. A noodle flew through the air and landed on Kaoru's head. I stiffled a giggle as he lifted it off. He threw it at me and stuck to my face.

"Hikaru! Don't you start," Mrs. Hitachiin said. I removed the noodle from my face and looked at her. She couldn't even tell her own children apart.

"That's Kaoru, Mrs. Hitachiin," I said to her.

* * *

Izumi pulled me by the hold she had on the crook of my elbow. "Chise, you're going to be the one that makes us late to anything if you don't hurry up." I sighed and started walking faster so she would stop complaining. Yes, I decided to change for practice right after school, that way I wouldn't be later than I knew we were already going to be. "And must you wear your shorts and hoodie? I mean, it's not like you're just going to some shoddy place."

"Izumi, if you don't stop nagging me, I will turn around and leave right now." She pressed her lips together and continued on in silence. We came to that familiar door and once again when it opened we were met with a blast of cool air and rose petals. Twice and it was already getting old.

The seven guys were arranged around a chair that looked to be covered with red velvet. "Welcome." The blond, both of them really, came over to us. The tall one whose name I vaguely remembered to be Tamaki took Izumi's hand and placed a kiss on it. I guess that was like his signature thing or something.

"Chi-chan! Would you like to eat cake with me?" I looked at the small blond boy. I wanted to eat cake so bad, but I would hate myself for it at practice.

I unwilling shook my head. Literally, Izumi had placed her hands on either side of my head and was shaking it no. "I really want to Honey-senpai, but-"

"She's in training," Izumi finished. I really hated it when people cut me off mid-sentence, and it's only been becoming more and more frequent lately.

The look on Honey's face was sad enough to make my heart ache. "How about next week, there's no practice on Tuesday?"

"You mean it?" I was surprised when the same question came from two different people. It was like I was in surround sound. I gently nudged Izumi, but continued looking at Honey.

"Of course I mean it. I don't lie." I heard laughter coming from at least half the room. I peered around the guys and realized that the room was already full of girls. "Making up an excuse for being late to homeroom almost every morning doesn't count," I clarified.

I felt Honey jump onto my shoulders and hug my neck from behind. "So you're really coming back?" He asked in a hopeful tone. I nodded as best I could.

"Yeah, I guess so." I wasn't sure who was happier: Izumi, Honey, or Tamaki.

Tamaki took my hand. "Dear princess, have you decided which is your type then?" I pulled my hand away with no hesitation this time. I crossed my arms.

"For today, I am simply making sure Izumi isn't late to practice again. I think Coach is in a bad mood today." I heard her scoff, but I ignored it. "So, I'll just stick with her." I linked my arm with Izumi's and let her lead me into the room to a couch that other girls had also chosen. I had a feeling that I knew exactly who was going to show up as the host -or rather hosts.

When they did show up, I didn't even pay any attention to them. The sounds of all of the other girls squealing was more than annoying enough for me. I glanced over to the twins to see what was getting the girls all hot and bothered. Hikaru was caressing the side of Kaoru's cheek and staring into his eyes in a way that was more than just brotherly. I didn't get it. "Oh brother." They looked at me and I rolled my eyes at them. Brother... I forgot to get my brother from the middle school! I jumped off the couch and ran out of the room.

"Where are you going?" I heard Izumi call after me. I turned toward her just as I made it to the door.

"I forgot to get my brother from the middle school! If I'm not back, I'll see you at practice!" I threw open the door and ran out and through the halls of the school. Thankfully the middle school campus wasn't far from the high school, so when I made it there a few minutes later I was glad to see Takai still waiting for me by the front gates.

"You forgot me again didn't you?" He asked with a laugh. I shook my head. He just gave me a look and I nodded in defeat.

"Sorry Takai. I really didn't mean to I swear." I placed my arm over my little brother's shoulders (which was a little difficult since he's taller than me) and led him back the way I came.

"Do you ever mean to, Chise?" I shrugged.

"Sometimes I do..." He laughed and I lightly pushed him. My brother and I were very close, we always have been.

"So do you have an overly obvious-it's-fake excuse?" I shook my head. "Really?"

"Yeah. Izumi dragged me to this host club."

"I've heard of that."

I glanced at him. "Really... then you wouldn't mind going back with me while we wait for Izumi to finish her time there?" He laughed at me.

"If I must." I grabbed his arm and pulled him back to the club room with me. I had him open the door and to my surprise there were no rose petals this time. So not fair. Everyone was still as they had been previously. A few people looked over and I could hear a few girls saying how cute Takai was. He seemed to be frozen from the attention. He wasn't one for attention. I grabbed his hand and led him farther into the room.

"Hey Chise, is that your boyfriend?" Some girl that I've never gotten along with from my homeroom asked. I looked at her.

"Of course not. This is my baby brother." I released his hand and slung an arm over his shoulder.

He looked at her. "I'm not a baby." I just took him over to the couch and had him sit down next to Izumi. I leaned against the back of the couch right behind them. Before I knew what was going on, a cup of (thankfully) cold tea hit my face. I straightened myself and stood up as I wiped my eyes.

"Hikaru!" I shouted to the twin that was holding the cup. "Why did you do that?"

He smirked at me. Something that he never used to do. "You shouldn't have been standing there." I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Why are you really here anyway?" Kaoru asked.

"I came so Izumi wouldn't be late to pracitce again. She does have other commitments," I said, none to nicely.

"So you came out of the goodness of your heart?" They asked together in a mocking tone. I literally wanted to smack them both upside the head. This was the most we've said to each other in years though.

I clentched my fists and then loosened them. If I got into a fight with these morons, I would get kicked off the team. The team needs me. "I came because she asked me too and she's my friend. I don't just throw people out of my life when they do something I don't completely agree with." Once again I turned to leave.

"Chi," Takai said after me.

"I have to get to track practice, Kai. You can come with or stay here, it doesn't matter." He followed behind me and grabbed my hand. I never even told him what happened between the three of us. Even I wasn't too sure.

* * *

**Hola peoples and internet using pets xD**

**Yes, Chise is going to seem cold and very mean to the twins and they are going to seem very sarcastic and mean to her, but as to why, all of the details will be explained later. I want to thank everyone that has reviewed/alerted/favorited, all of that means a lot to me :D So please continue being the amazing people and readers and writers that you are!**


	4. Our Apology

"Midori, you're never on time for anything. I must be pretty special for you to willingly show up early," Mrs. Hitachiin said as Mom and I entered the large shared workspace. Different fabrics, mannequins, and various sketches were haphazardly placed around the room. Some sketches were pinned onto the wall, some fabrics were laying on the floor while others were on tables or pinned onto the mannequins.

"I don't understand why I'm here," I said simply. "Takai and I were going to go shopping with Dad." Mom smiled at me with her dark brown eyes that matched mine almost perfectly.

"Did you miss us?" I heard very familiar voices ask. I turned around and saw my absolute best friends standing just inside the doorway. I let out a yelp of excitement and hugged them both.

"I've missed you guys so much! Don't ever leave me again!"

Kaoru laughed. "Just come with us next time," he suggested.

Hikaru second the suggestion. I vaguely heard Mom and Mrs. Hitachiin say something about the innocence of young love. I blushed and was glad that no one could see my face. Who ever heard of a twelve year old being in love?

* * *

I walked through the crowded halls on my way to homeroom. Honestly, I wasn't used to getting to school so early, but I woke up stressed out about having to go back to that stupid host club. That's the last time I ever make a promise to do anything anymore.

Anyway, I came to school early to utilize the track for a while to clear my head. Afterward, I had quickly showered in the locker room, put on my uniform, and headed for class. I was actually the second person in the room. Not even Mr. Akimoto had arrived yet. Haruhi was the next person to show up. He glanced up at the clock when he saw me.

"You're funny Fujioka," I said sarcastically. He smiled as he walked past me to his seat. I turned in my chair to face him as he situated himself. "Do you always get here this early?" I asked.

He nodded. "Usually. Why are you so early? You may just cause Mr. Akimoto to have a heart attack from seeing you not only on time, but also here before him."

I laughed. "I actually didn't sleep well at all, so I got ready early and used the track to practice my hurdles and just ran."

"So you go from oversleeping everyday, to not being able to sleep?" He asked.

I nodded and sighed. "In all honesty, I really don't even want to go to the Host club today." He nodded, almost in agreement. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you don't really seem like the type of person that would even think highly of a host club, let alone be in one."

"It's a long story," he said. I believed that it really was a long story. Not just an excuse as most people use that sentence for.

"HA-RU-HI!" The perfectly blended voices of those twins called out. Haruhi didn't even bother to acknowledge them. They had to have known that he heard them.

"And there goes the peace," he muttered more to himself than me, I'm sure. I laughed anyway. I had to agree completely. They've always had this way about them that caused all peacefulness to completely vanish.

"Does this happen often?" I asked him in a hushed voice. He nodded and I had to laugh again. I was in no way surprised by that answer.

They appeared on either side of Haruhi and I tried my hardest not to throw something at them. "Why'd you ignore us Haruhi?" Hikaru asked, clearly trying to ignore me. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Obviously I'm talking to Chise." That was when they stopped pretending like I wasn't there.

"Thanks for the tea, by the way. I really appreciated it," I said with a smile. "Very host-like of you Hikaru." Even know, they were still surprised that I could tell them apart. The only difference was that now they narrowed their eyes instead of smiling.

"Maybe you can have more today," Kaoru said. I stood up from my seat and leaned my hands on Haruhi's desk.

"Why don't you three like each other?" I heard Haruhi ask. I looked down at his brown eyes and sighed. I sat back down as I remembered the team.

"We've just never got along," the three of us said at the same time. Then I glared at them as they glared back at me. "Liar!" We said again. "Stop it!"

I laid my head down on Haruhi's desk. We used to do that all the time. We would say the same things without even having to give it a second thought. How could something like that still be possible. There was no way we should still be on the same wavelength. If we were, maybe I'd understand what happened in middle school.

"Chise." I turned around to see Izumi standing right next to me, my school bag in her hands. "I think you left this at the track." I took it from her.

"You just saved my life."

"How did you forget that thing? It weighs at least a hundred pounds." I laughed.

"It's not heavy, you're just weak."

"That. Is very true." She turned to head to her desk on the other side of the room.

"So much for a good morning," Haruhi said. I looked back at him.

"You're just a downer today, aren't you?" I asked with a smile so he knew I was joking. He laughed too, but suddenly turned more serious.

"What happened between you three?" He asked quietly so the twins wouldn't hear.

I sighed. "It's a long story." He simply nodded in response just as the late bell rang.

"Hello class," Mr. Akimoto said as he entered the room, closing the door behind him. So that's why the door's always closed when I get here. He sat down at his computer and began taking attendance. "So everyone's here." He seemed to be taken aback by that fact. He recounted all of us. "Ah, Miss Mazawa. You're here on time for once."

"Yes sir, I am. Thought I would try something new this morning." He didn't seem especially impressed, but I didn't mind. I didn't come early for him.

For once in my life, I wished school had been a little longer. I didn't want to go to the Host Club. Really, I just wanted to go home. I had a lot of homework to do anyway. I walked slowly on my way there, but I was just trying to prolong the inevitable. I opened up the doors and stepped to the side to avoid the petals that once again tried to attack my face. "You came back, Chi-chan!" I may have avoided the attacking rose petals, but this guy was fast and came out of nowhere. Maybe he was a ninja?

"Of course. I said I would, didn't I?" He smiled and led me over to a table that was covered with just about every kind of cake imaginable. I felt like I was in heaven.

"What kind do you like Chi-chan?" I looked at him and smiled.

"Every kind, but I would have to say strawberry shortcake is my favorite," I said with a smile. Just the thought of finally being able to eat a piece of cake was almost too good to be true.

"Mine too!" He said excitedly with a giggle. Izumi told me that he was third year, but I was really having a hard time believing it. He handed me a large slice of strawberry shortcake and I could almost feel myself drooling. I took a piece of it with my fork and just as it touched my lips, the fork was smacked out of my hand.

"Chise! What are you doing?" Izumi shouted at me.

"I was trying to eat cake... then you smacked me," I said to her. She placed her hands on her hips, something she only did when she was annoyed.

"What would Coach say?" I shrugged and looked back at the practically whole piece of cake laying on the plate in front of me. "Chise, think of the meet on Saturday. You have to do the hurdles, that's your worst event. Don't you think that you should still be out practicing even though there is no _official_ practice?"

"Why do you think my bag was there this morning? That's what I was doing this morning, I was practicing, that what I was doing _yesterday_ and every other day before that and it's what I'll be doing _tomorrow_ and every day after that. If anything, I could use the extra calories."

She grumbled something under her breath and then walked away in defeat. "I love you, Izumi!" I said to her back.

"Yeah, yeah," I heard her say in return. I faced the table once again and there was a fork in front of my face. I looked up to see the really tall dark haired guy holding it for me.

"Thank you," I said as I grasped the handle in my hand and took a successful bite.

"This is my cousin Takashi, but you can call him Mori," Honey said with his mouth full of cake.

I smiled at him, "It's nice to meet you!" I spent quite a while talking to them and listening and eating this wonderfully delicious cake. I hadn't even realized that everyone was gone. I looked around the room and noticed that the only other girl in the room was Izumi. I stood up from my chair.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't realize I was here so long," I bowed to the seniors as I apologized.

"Think of it as our apology for the behavior of Hikaru and Kaoru last week," I heard a cool voice say. I turned to see the glasses guy smiling at me as he held a black notebook under his arm.

I nodded. "I'm sorry for that too. I shouldn't have made a scene of it."

"Since when are you this apologetic?" They asked. I hated the sound of their voices mixed together.

I looked at them. "Why don't you two just leave me alone? That is, after all, what you told me four years ago isn't it? To leave you alone? That you didn't want me in your lives anymore? I was doing just fine, acting like I didn't know you guys. Why start being like this now?" I felt as though I wanted to cry. It was one thing that I've been wondering since they first started acknowledging me again after I started talking to Haruhi. I held the tears in though, there was no way I was going to let them see me cry. I grabbed my bag, thanked Honey for the good time and walked through the doors.

As I went down the halls, the first tear slid down my cheek. Why did I have to love them so much?

* * *

**So, a few of you (at least one...) have tried to guess what happened. Let's just say that it hasn't been guessed yet and it may not be. I'm keeping that secret locked up tight.**

**I really would like to thank everyone for reviewing and especially a person that left an anonymous unsigned review. Yours really did brighten up my day(more like my week), like, a lot ^_^ so I want to say thank you so much.**

**Also, I'm thinking about having the next chapter be in either Hikaru or Kaoru's POV. You know, just to get their feelings on everything.**


	5. Not the Brightest Crayon in the Box

We ate lunch outside together everyday. It was nothing new. That's why I was surprised when they weren't already out there waiting for me like usual. I sat down on a bench under the shade of a tree and placed my bag on the seat next to me. It was almost summer and the sun was ridiculously hot. I pulled my hair up into a ponytail so it would be off of my neck. "Mazawa, can we talk to you?" My head turned instinctively toward the blend of voices.

I laughed, "Since when do you call me by my last name?" They weren't laughing. They weren't doing anything except standing next to each other wearing matching looks of indifference. That's a look I haven't seen from them in a long time. I stood up from the bench. "What's wrong?"

"Just leave us alone," Kaoru said. My mouth opened slightly. I didn't understand what he was saying to me.

"Why? Please tell me what's wrong!" I placed my hand on his arm, he pulled away. "Kaoru?" His facial expression changed for a split second. I was hoping he would just start laughing and say they were joking.

"We don't want you in our lives anymore," Hikaru said calmly. I was glad they could be calm. My eyes stung with tears and I was tempted to run from them. I couldn't. Something in me was keeping me standing in front of them.

I shook my head, "That doesn't make any sense. I thought we were friends?"

That was when they did laugh, but not in the way I wanted them to. Their laughs were cold and sent a shiver down my spine. I had never seen them this way before. I knew they could be distant at times, but I had never seen them be outright mean, at least not to me. "Why would we want to be friends with you?" Hikaru asked.

"You can't even tell us apart," Kaoru added. Now they were just making up excuses. I could tell them apart, I knew it and they knew it. I picked up my bag and met their eyes.

I smiled at them, it was a forced smile, but I made as real as I could. "Whatever you guys say," I said in a tone of finality. I turned away from them and walked back toward the school. I couldn't help it though, I faced them once again. They were holding onto each others hands and walking in the opposite direction, I thought back to that first day we had met seven years ago.

I never would have imagined things would end this way.

* * *

Hikaru walked along next to me as we walked into homeroom. Chise was early and was once again talking to Haruhi. I had no idea what they were always talking about, but they have been talking more and more recently. They started laughing just as we walked up. "He really did that?" Haruhi asked.

Chise nodded, still laughing slightly. "Yeah, and then he threw it across the room hitting my dad right in the back. It was hilarious!" They both laughed again. Haruhi looked up at us and Chise followed her gaze, her eyes narrowed, but she didn't turn around like she used to.

"What did your dad do?" Haruhi asked as she looked away from us.

Chise smiled, she always had the kindest smile and she had a dimple on her right cheek. I remembered a time when she used to deny its existence. "He grabbed a water balloon out of the bucket and threw it at Takai, but it missed and hit Mom. That started an all out water balloon war." I remembered that day. Hikaru and I had been there too, but of course she wouldn't have mentioned that. I wouldn't mention us either after everything we've done.

"Your parents sound really nice."

Chise nodded. "They are. We're all really close too. Especially Takai and I. I don't know what I'd do without my little brother."

"He didn't seem that little to me. When you said you had to get your brother I expected him to be younger," Haruhi said plainly. Chise nodded.

"That's because even though he's only eleven months younger than me, I still think of his as my baby brother. I'd do anything for him though."

"I used to want a little sister when I was younger." I never knew that about Haruhi. I guess you learn something new everyday. I sat down in my seat next to Haruhi and tried to block out their conversation, but I couldn't. It was always hard to block out Chise's voice.

"Eh, I never wanted a sister. Girls cause too much... drama. Do you ever think it would be easier being a boy?" Chise asked, her voice just low enough no one else heard her. I looked over at them. How did she know? Why am I surprised she knew, she could tell Hikaru and I apart. Of course she'd be able to see that Haruhi was actually a girl.

"How long have you known?" Haruhi asked in her calm way. I glanced at Hikaru, it looked like he was ready to start threatening her any second now. How could he be so surprised? He knew Chise better than I did.

She laughed before she answered. "How long have you been a student here again?"

"And you didn't tell anyone?" I asked curiously.

"No Haruhi, I didn't tell anyone. I figured you had a good reason and it was none of my business." Chise refused to look at me. Every time that happened, I felt my heart squeeze. I don't know what hurt more; having her hate me or knowing it was my own fault that she hated me.

"I knew there was a reason I liked you Chise," Haruhi laughed. Chise laughed in return and before I realized what was going on, she turned around and Mr. Akimoto's voice sounded through the now silent room.

"Ah, Miss Mazawa. You really have turned over a new leaf," he said.

"Don't say that so soon, it's only been two days after all. I also learned from the master of lateness." He had no idea just how true that statement was. Her mom really was late to practically everything she had to go to.

At lunch, Hikaru dragged me outside for lunch. It was something we did every once in a while, but not too often. I didn't really understand why he wanted to come out today. He stopped me at the base of a tree. "We have to do something about her knowing," my brother said.

I shook my head. "If she was going to tell, she would have already."

Hikaru held up a finger, "Not necessarily. She's like the Shadow King in that way. If she could gain something from it, she'd tell in a heartbeat."

"You know that's not true. You're just bitter because she and Haruhi get along."

Hikaru ran his hand through his hair. I was right and it bothered him that that was the reason for his frustration. "Why does she have to come back after this long?" He practically shouted.

"Technically, she never left. We just never had a reason to actually see her."

I looked to my right and saw her sitting on a bench. Speak of the devil. She was sitting sideways with her legs up on the bench, bent at her knees. She wasn't eating anything, but she was staring up. My eyes went up, subconsciously trying to figure out what she was looking at. A small smile was pulling at her lips making that dimple more prominent. "You still like her, don't you Kaoru?" I snapped myself out of whatever trance I had been in.

"Of course not," I said while shaking my head. "_You_ still like her, don't you?"

He shook his head harder than I had mine. "After the way she acted, of course not. Plus if she liked _us _at all, wouldn't she have at least tried to be friends again?" I shrugged and as the lunch bell rang, we headed back to class. I told Hikaru, that I would be right in. I went toward the bench Chise had been sitting at and looked up.

In the branch, directly over where she had been sitting, was a birds nest. The chirps of the baby birds were faint, but audible. She had always had a soft spot for animals.

The Host Club was closed today, though I really didn't know why. Tono was talking about things to do for the rest of the week and next week. I wasn't listening, Hikaru and I rarely listened to his rants about various cosplays anyway.

Suddenly, the doors opened and Izumi came running in. She was carrying something in her hands, but I couldn't tell what it was. "Izumi! When I get my hands on you you're dead!" Her voice called through the door. "And since when are you faster than me?" She showed then. She was wearing a pair of red shorts and a tight white tank top. Her hair was blown around her face and she didn't look happy.

"Chise, this is part of practice for you," Izumi said as she held out the object that was in her hand. She was taunting Chise. "So if you want this, you have to catch me."

"What are you two doing?" I heard Haruhi ask. Chise moved her hair away from her reddened face, but she kept her eyes on the other girl.

"She took my..." She didn't finish and she dropped her 'menacing' look. "Izumi, why am I here?"

The doors closed. "I asked her to bring you here," Kyoya said.

"You couldn't have just asked me yourself? It would have been a lot easier."

Kyoya ignored her and continued on, "It's come to my attention that you know our little secret."

The look on her face showed only one thing: confusion. "I know I'm not the brightest crayon in the box, but I really have no idea what you're talking about."

"You know that Haruhi is a girl," he said flatly.

She laughed. "That is why I'm here? I've known since the day she walked into class. I mean, what guy looks like her?" She stopped and seemed to think for a moment. "Okay, I'll admit I have seen a guy that _looks_ like her, but not one that acts like her. It makes me question the intelligence of the girls at this school."

"So you know about her situation also?" He asked. She shook her head.

"I asked once, but she said it was a long story. I understand the meaning of "it's a long story", I've used it many times." Chise looked around the room. I assumed she was looking for Izumi. She had left though, she didn't know about this.

"I'm in debt, not really that long of a story, but..."

She nodded to her. "I figured, if you wanted to tell me, you would. It's not really any of my business." As she turned my attention back to Kyoya, she said, "I'm really not going to tell anyone. I said that earlier."

"Okay then!" Tamaki said with his usual amount of fervor. "Now on to the second part of this meeting!"

"What, are you talking about?" She asked.

* * *

**I left a little cliffhanger for you guys! Mostly because if I didn't stop now, I'd be writing until this was like 10,000 words. That's a little ridiculous for one chapter, if you ask me xD Plus, I have my first snow day EVER tomorrow, so I'll be able to work on the next part and get it up(hopefully) quickly.**

**I really really REALLY love reading all of your reviews! Except, I learned not to read them in class anymore... I end up grinning like a fool for the rest of the hour. So, please keep reviewing and I realize that I stopped replying to reviews, but I'm going to start again. Promise ^_^**


	6. Without You

"I can't do it Mom!" I complained as my mom zipped up the dress she was making me wear for a fashion show. It was for her children's line and she wanted me to wear a baby blue Sunday dress. She pushed me gently until I was standing in front of a mirror. I was a twelve year old in a dress meant for six year olds. That's what I get for being so small for my age.

She smiled. "But you look so cute and it fits." She was desperate for help at this point. The girl that was supposed to wear this dress didn't show up. Six years old and already causing a designer stress. I met my mom's eyes in the mirror.

I sighed. "Okay, I'll do it." She disappeared for a moment and then reappeared holding two pairs of white shoes.

She held one up. "These were supposed to go with the dress, but since your feet are a bit bigger than hers were, so I think these will be much better." She held up a pair of white pumps and I stared at her.

"You're joking," I said. My mother of all people should know I can't walk in anything that's not flat on the ground.

She turned them around and pointed to the heels. "But they're short and they'll make you look a little older. More your age, less six?" I took the shoes from her and slid my feet into them. She rushed me into the line-up, I was the last person that was going to go for this collection and I was nervous. I've been around these shows long enough to know that the last dress is always supposed to be the show stopper. I didn't want to let her down…

The girl in front of me headed out, I was told to count to twelve and then also leave. So slowly, I started counting. 1, 2, 3. There is no way I'm going to be able to do this right. 4, 5, 6. I'm going to trip and make my mom look bad. 7,8,9. Hikaru and Kaoru showed up out of nowhere. I didn't have time to talk to them. They each kissed me on opposite cheeks and lightly pushed me out on to the catwalk.

The lights were so bright, cameras were flashing, and I could feel the eyes of almost everyone one me. Light applause was heard (as it was at every new look) and I put one foot in front of the other. I repeated the same thing over and over in my head as I approached the end. Don't fall, look forward not at your feet, back straight. I stopped and struck a pose, smiling slightly. I couldn't help the smile anymore.

As I got back to my mom and the group of other girls. She took my hand and we all headed back out once more. I felt more confident walking with my mom. "Chise, wait for us!" I heard their voices stage whisper. I stopped and released my mom's hand. I linked arms with Kaoru and Hikaru.

"Your mom said we should come out a little after," Kaoru said. I smiled and looked at Mom as she glanced back at the three of us.

"I don't think I could have done this with out you guys."

* * *

"I really don't have time for this. I have to get to practice," Chise said as she turned away from Kyoya.

"I've already taken the liberty of speaking with your coach for you. She said it would be okay if you are late," he said. She looked back at him, surprised. Of course he had already taken care of anything that would interfere with whatever he was doing. I glanced at Kaoru, he was trying his hardest to look like he wasn't interested in what was going on.

Chise shook her head. "I don't care if Coach okayed it. I have to nail the hurdles before Saturday, I can barely do two."

"We'll just have to go with you then!" Tono said in his usual overeager way. He took her hand and held it close to his chest. If she didn't look so annoyed by him I would have wanted to smack his hand away myself. He didn't notice her annoyance and just continued talking. "Princess Chise, we will do everything in our power to help you learn Hurdles."

Chise pulled her hand back. "Do you even know what hurdles are?" He shook his head. Chise laughed. For a long time, Kaoru and I didn't hear her laugh. Only recently she started laughing and looking happy in front of us. "Maybe you _should_ come then…" she said thoughtfully. She turned away then and headed back toward the door. Tono followed close behind her as they left the room. Honey followed them and before we knew it, only Kaoru and I remained.

I looked at my brother, he looked back at me. "Should we go?" He asked. We're supposed to act like we don't care about her, going to support her in something she's trying hard to accomplish sounds like caring to me.

I shrugged. "Why should we?" I knew why we should go, he did too. It was the reason why we tried to make her hate us so long ago. We love her, but we also love each other. It was easier to have each other which is a sure thing, than to have one -or both- of us hurt by a gamble with her.

"The others are going to notice we aren't with them," he tried. I nodded and stood up.

"Let's go then Kaoru."

A whistle blew and shouts were heard. "Come on girls, push. This meet on Saturday is the official start of the season." I assumed it was Coach Hayata. She was famous for her bad moods and award winning teams. We stood next to Haruhi at the fence that surrounded the track. Chise was on the edge of the field stretching and talking to other girls on the team. It was kind of shocking how much she had changed physically in the past four years. She got taller and she filled out a lot. And it seemed that a lot of the members of the boy's track and field team that was practicing too; noticed the same thing I did.

And I thought Tono holding onto her hand bothered me.

"Mazawa, get ready for the hurdles!" Coach Hayata called. Chise straightened herself and jogged to the start. She took a visible deep breath and let it out slowly. The coach went to her and said something that caused Chise to nod. "Okay, everyone out of the way!"

Chise prepared herself and took another breath. The whistle sounded and she was off. She was fast and cleared the first hurdle easily, just barely made the second, and tripped over the third. She landed on the ground. "Damn it!" She shouted. She brushed off the leg she had landed on and stood the hurdle back up. "Why can't I jump over you?" She asked the hurdle.

"Are you okay? You landed hard." The coach said with concern.

Chise nodded. "I'm fine. Let's try it again." Coach Hayata nodded and took her place on the side of the track as Chise took her position once again.

The same result occurred four more times. "You're going to end up getting hurt!" Izumi said stepping in. The coach nodded in agreement.

"We can try again in a few minutes."

She nodded and went over to a bag. She dug around for a moment and then pulled out a water bottle. As she took a sip, she walked over to where we were standing. "I hate that third hurdle," she grumbled to herself. "I swear there's a thing on it that says, "Chise may not jump over"," she said louder.

"You almost got it that last time," Haruhi said as she offered a smile.

"My foot got caught on it... it's not any higher than the first two, why can't I get over it?" She gripped the top of the fence and placed her head on top of her hands.

"Maybe it's your hair." She looked up and turned to see Izumi jogging up behind her. "You always have it down, always. Try putting it up?"

She fingered the ends of her long dark brown hair. "What would that have to do with anything?"

"It gets in your face and messes up your concentration." Izumi pulled her own ponytail. "That's why mine's always up."

Chise held out her hand. "Can I use your hairtie?" She pulled it out of her hair and handed it over. Chise bent over and pulled her hair into her hands and secured it to the top of her head. "I hope this works." She went over to the coach and then to her starting position. She had to make it over eight hurdles and she couldn't get over three.

Coach Hayata blew the whistle and Chise started running. She made it over the first with no problem and then the second. Her worry was plain on her face as she approached the third, but she made it over. She kept going. Then at the eighth and final hurdle, she tripped. I had never seen her so angry in my life. "I almost had it!" She shouted in anger.

"Try it again Mazawa!" She faced her coach and went back to the start. Her concentration was clear, she knew she could do it. I knew she could do it. I wanted her to be able to do it. I took a hold of my brother's hand, we were thinking the same thing.

This time... she made it. The look on her face when she realized what she had done was probably the happiest look anyone could ever give. She sat down in the middle of the track and stared back at the path she had taken in wonder.

"I told her that was all she needed to do," Izumi said. I hadn't realized she was still standing by us. Chise stood up and ran to Izumi.

She threw her arms around the other girl and squeezed. "You're the bestest person in the world! I love you so much. If it wasn't for you, I would still be stuck at the third one! You are the best friend I've ever had. I couldn't have done that without you!"

"A little dramatic?" Izumi said. Chise just smiled and laughed.

See, she's already replaced us. There's no reason to care at all. Izumi is a good friend for her to have, one that won't hurt her or get hurt by her. We did the right thing that day at lunch. We did it for her, we did it for us. I didn't want that to be true. I wanted to love Chise without knowing my brother also loved her. But, I also wanted to go back to the time when we were all just friends with no feelings other than ones that friends would have for each other. Maybe we were never meant to all be friends? I know the way I feel will never change, maybe it's the same for Kaoru. That's why things have to remain the way they are. Kaoru and I wouldn't be able to be the same if one of us was rejected by her and the other accepted.

It's better this way.

Then why do I want to be the one she's hugging and saying she loves?

* * *

**So, that was Hikaru's POV if you didn't know. And I just wanted to point out that the memory at the beginning isn't in a certain order or time frame. They just tie into what's going on in the present a little bit... a lot in this case.**

**The secret as to why they did what they did has been revealed! LOVE! One person was awfully close to the reason and I would say who, but I don't remember and I am too lazy to look right now... (Sorry!)**

**Please review and tell me what you think xD**


	7. Way to Start the Season

Mom had been on a fairytale princess kick for a few weeks. All she'd do was either watch Disney movies or research different variations of the timeless princesses. It was rather entertaining watching how meticulously she'd run her eyes over the dresses that they wore and how carefully she'd describe the colors of every little detail.

She even bought an entire bedroom set for me that was all Disney princesses. I didn't even like them, but how could I ruin the fun for her? I couldn't. She wanted to turn the childish fantasy of being able to dress like a princess into an adult woman's reality. Of course her designs didn't involve nearly as many ruffles or as much glitter or poofiness. They were real and could be easily placed on any woman walking down the street.

"Chise, which princess would you say is your favorite?" Mom asked one day as I got home from school. Hikaru and Kaoru were right behind me as I met her in the kitchen. She was sitting in front of her laptop with a notepad open on the counter and a pencil in her hand.

I shrugged. "I don't know. Probably Belle."

"Why did you choose her?" She asked, not looking up at me as she wrote something down.

"Because unlike most of all the others, she didn't start out as a princess. She was the only one that started out as just a normal girl." Of course at that time, I had no idea that there were in fact others like Belle, but she was the one that stuck in my mind; I was only ten after all.

A few days later, a yellow dress was lying on my bed as I entered my room. I held it up and realized that it looked very similar to a sketch I had been looking at of Mom's for Belle's modern woman dress. I wore that dress around the house for weeks, living in my own little fairytale.

* * *

This is what we've been getting ready for, I thought to myself as we stepped off of the bus that brought us to our first official meet at Kahler Academy. Coach led our large group around the school to the track that was situated nicely on the lush back grounds. We were the last of the five teams to arrive, but there was still over a half an hour until the meet actually started and I was beginning to feel really nervous. Once I got running, I would be fine, I knew that, but until then there would a million huge butterflies flapping around in my stomach.

"Chi-chan!" I turned my head to see the small blond boy sitting on the shoulders of his tall cousin. I jogged over to them and smiled.

"Hi Honey-senpai. Hi Mori-senpai. What are you guys doing here?"

Honey gave me a huge smile. "We came to cheer you on, Chi-chan! Right Takashi?"

"Yeah," he said and nodded in agreement.

I smiled wider. "That means a lot to me, really."

"The entire club came for you Chi-chan!" He jumped off of his cousin's shoulders and took my hand to pull me through the crowd of athletes and spectators. Sure enough, he was telling the truth. Not that I expected him to lie, but I really don't know why they were all here. "I found her!" Honey said in a proud voice. All of the guys turned around at the sound of Honey's voice.

Tamaki stepped away from the group and took my hand. "Ah, sweet Princess. We came to make sure you succeed today." It sounded like he could keep going all day, so I pulled my hand back before he could go on.

"Thank you all, but I should really get back to the rest of the team," I pointed out to the field with my thumb. "I'll see you later!" I called as I began to walk away from them.

I was surprised that even Hikaru and Kaoru were here. I haven't seen this much of them in years. "Mazawa, where were you?" Coach asked as I walked up to her and the rest of the team.

"I had to get a drink and my mom said she would be here with Takai." Coach nodded and continued talking about whatever she had been going on about before I interrupted with my presence. She finished with her routine inspirational speech and let us off to prepare for our events or meet with our families. I pulled off my hoodie and tied my hair up as I started to stretch my upper body for the relay. I kicked off my shoes for a second and slipped of the sweatpants I had been wearing, so I was in my track shorts and top. I put my shoes back on and stretched my legs.

"There are many male eyes on you right now," I heard Izumi whisper in my ear. I jumped at the sudden and nearness of her voice. She laughed as I fell over from losing my balance.

I huffed and crossed my arms. "Not. Nice."

She reached her hands toward me and lifted me up to my feet. "Never said I was." I nodded and shrugged. "So you really don't care that guys stare at you when you stretch?"

"Not really. At least they have a chance to see me before I'm way ahead of them in the races," I said with a laugh.

She shook her head, "I wasn't talking about them. Well yeah, they stare too, but I was talking about Hikaru and Kaoru. They were staring when they were at practice the other day too."

I clicked my tongue. "Is that so?" Why would they be staring at me? Glaring I could understand. We were just different people that didn't get along anymore. I wished that I believed that. We went out of our way to not get along. That's what it has come to. I wish I knew what was going through their minds four years ago…

"Chise, snap out of it," Izumi said and snapped her fingers in front of my face. "What happened between you three anyway?"

I shook my head. "I've never even talked to them before you took me to the Host Club."

"You lie Chise Mazawa," she said gently. I met her eyes and smiled.

"I do, but only because I've never told anyone about what happened. It's kind of confusing to me, so I just say I've never spoken to them before." Izumi placed her hand on my shoulder.

"You can tell me, you know. I won't judge… too harshly," she said with a laugh. I pushed her gently.

"This is serious Izumi!"

"Mazawa, Senmatsu, Ando, Ebisawa!" Coach called. The four of us jogged to her side. "Okay, you four will be the first relay team. Ando you pass to Ebisawa, Ebisawa you pass to Senmatsu, Senmatsu you pass to Mazawa, and Mazawa you run to that finish line as if you're being chased by rabid cheetahs." Coach always said cheetahs instead of dogs simply because cheetahs were faster and rabid because that was scarier. We nodded and headed toward our positions. I stretched my legs out again and took a deep breath.

Rabid cheetahs are going to be chasing you, I told myself. The other teams are those rabid cheetahs, don't let them catch up to you Mazawa. The shot sounded and I kept my eyes on Ando until she passed to Ebisawa we were second, passed to Senmatsu. She got us back to first. I started going as she got closer. I gripped the baton in my hand and pictured those rabid cheetahs. The finishing was close, but I outran those cheetahs.

"And the winner is Ouran Academy with the team of Ando, Ebisawa, Senmatsu, and Mazawa!" The announcer said. Then, it was very obvious where everyone from Ouran was sitting.

The four of us went back toward the team, there were still three more girls' relays and then four for the guys. "The cheetahs didn't even come close!" Coach said happily. "Go do whatever, just nothing illegal or stupid and don't go too far, none of you girls are done here yet." We nodded and went our separate ways.

The first thing I saw when I turned around was Mom and Takai waving me down. I smiled and made my way to them. "Because of that, you get to sleep inside tonight!" My mom said jokingly as she pulled me into a hug.

I laughed and hugged her back. "It was only my first race, Mom."

"Do you wanna sleep outside?" She asked as she held me out at arms length.

"You have to sleep outside Chi-chan?" I looked over my mom's shoulder to see Honey along with the rest of the host club standing there. He wore a worried expression and I had to smile. My mom also looked over her shoulder and saw them.

"Of course she doesn't. As long as she does well," Mom wore a huge grin as she spoke and Honey's expression switched from worried to something that could only be described as angry.

"It's a joke in our family," I said quickly. He looked at me, all other emotions had been replaced with confusion.

Tamaki gracefully took my hand. "Release my daughter at once!" Mom shouted at him. He did and cowered behind Kyoya. I looked at my mom and we both laughed.

"I still don't get how sleeping outside is a joke..." Honey said.

I stopped laughing. "Well, a few years ago, Takai here got a really low grade in English, so-"

"Hey, it's a hard language!" Takai retorted, but I ignored him.

"So instead of facing Mom and Dad, he slept outside in the backyard for two days saying he was at a friends house each night. It would have worked except he didn't let the friend in on the plan."

"I didn't really think it through, sue me."

I laughed and hugged him. "So it just became a little inside joke whenever we mess something up or get a low grade."

"Like with Chise and history," Mom said.

"Or Mom and finishing her designs on time," I added. She laughed and pulled me and Takai both into a hug.

"You're just a funny girl, did you ever consider a career in comedy?" She asked sarcastically. I ducked out of the hug and stood next to Haruhi.

"So how are you on this fine afternoon?" I asked her dramatically as I slung an arm over her shoulders.

"I want to go home," she said plainly. I nodded in agreement

"I know how you feel, but why don't you just go home then?" I asked. It made sense to me. If you didn't want to be somewhere, you leave.

She sighed. "I can't. They dragged me here." I put my other arm around her, so I was amost hugging her and laughed. She gave me a little glare.

"It can't be that bad..." She stopped glaring, but her gaze fell on the guys. More specifically, the twins. "Nevermind, I understand completely then."

"What's that supposed to mean?" They asked together.

"Everything." Just then my name was called to go to the start for my next race. Everyone wished me luck and I was off. I had the same thought in my head again. Rabid cheetahs.

I came in second, so according to Coach, I was both infected with rabies and eaten alive.

The same result happened almost everytime. I didn't know what was going on. I was never this slow before. Sure, I put us ahead of three other schools, but we were still second over all. "Mazawa, where's your head?" Coach asked as she pulled me to the side.

I shrugged and shook my head. "I have no idea."

She placed her hands on my shoulders. "Well figure it out. The hurdles are next, you've been doing well at practice, but this is the real deal. Do your best, try you hardest." I nodded.

I knew exactly what was on my mind and I knew exactly who put it there. I couldn't stop thinking about how Hikaru and Kaoru used to treat me. Much like how they treat Haruhi now. Annoying, yes, but they have semi good intentions. I would be lying if I said I didn't miss them. I would be lying if I said I didn't care that they moved on.

I would be lying if I said this was how I wanted my fairytale to be.

The shot sounded. I jumped over every hurdle that came into my path. I tripped just before I crossed the finish line and landed on my left arm. I rolled over onto my back and let out a groan as I held my arm close to my chest. Coach and other people from my team and the other teams were asking if I was okay.

Coach helped me sit up. She lightly touched my arm and I let out a gasp as pain shot through it. She asked one of the guys -I didn't know him and he was from another team- to carry me off of the track. I wasn't paying attention to what was going on around me. I saw my mom and kept my eyes on her. She was running toward me and as the guy carried me, she was fussing over my arm.

"Oh dear, I think it's broken."

My eyes widened. "What do you mean broken? It can't be!" The unknown guy handed me off to my brother.

"We have to get to the hospital," he said calmly.

"I already called one of my family's hospitals, it's only about a mile from here," I heard Kyoya say. I looked at him and gave a small smile.

I sat through what felt to be a high speed car chase, many x-rays, and agonizing waiting. It wasn't broken, I know it wasn't. I was very wrong.

It was broken in three places. I was banned from doing anything strenuous for the next eight weeks. That meant no running. That meant I was going to be bored out of my mind. "At least you're right handed," Mom said. I rolled my eyes at her. This was just great. Way to start the season.

* * *

**Hey everybody! Sorry for the late update. I have no excuse since I have been home since Wednesday... I'm also really disappointed that Green Bay Packers won the superbowl tonight, it was supposed to be the Pittsburgh Steelers! I'm just bitter that my Chicago Bears lost to Green Bay a while back, but I mean really! It was close though and yes, I love football xD**

**I was going to say something else, but I don't remember what it was... **

**Anyway! Please review, I love hearing from all of you wonderfully wonderful beautiful people. **


	8. Void Promises and Confessions of Love

"Kaoru, Hikaru, can you guys keep a secret?" I asked my best friends one day on our way home from school. We were in our first year of middle school and I couldn't wait to tell them my big secret.

"Sure," they said with nods and smiles.

I smiled back at them, "I think I'm in love!" They looked at me strangely, almost hopefully.

"What do you mean?" Hikaru asked at the same time Kaoru asked, "With who?" I smiled like it was no big deal, but I knew my face was close to the same shade as a tomato. These were my closest friends though, this was the kind of thing friends shared.

I looked down at the ground as we walked up to their home. Just before we made it to the door, I pulled them to the path that led around to the backyard. "Where are you taking us?" They asked together.

I laughed and rolled my eyes at them, but I didn't answer. I was mentally preparing myself to say the name of the person that I couldn't stop thinking about. I led them to the gazebo that we had all but put a flag on to broadcast that it was ours.

"So, who is it?" Hikaru asked impatiently. I laughed a little at his impatience.

I took a deep breath. "Promise, you won't tell?"

"Who will we tell? We only talk to you," Kaoru said plainly. I nodded. I knew why that was, but I always tried to get them to talk to other people. It didn't work.

"Well, he's in the year above us and he's really cute and really nice…" I started. They stared at me and they were silently telling me to continue.

"How do you know him?" Hikaru asked. I thought he was just curious, but after that day, I realized what his tone was really saying.

I smiled. "I was running down the hall this morning 'cause I was late…again. And I wasn't paying attention and I ran right into him. I felt so bad and I even made him drop everything he was carrying, but he asked me if I was okay first, I said I was fine and helped him pick up his things. Then he walked me to class."

Kaoru nodded. "But what's his name?"

I blushed. "Oh right! Kyoya Ootori," I said with a huge grin. Unbeknownst to me, they had made their decision that day.

* * *

It was annoying trying to do things with a broken arm. It was heavy and it got in the way. Just taking a shower in the morning used to take twenty minutes, now it takes twice as long. I stared at myself in the mirror. My arm from my elbow down was covered in plastic, the lime green of the cast clearly visible. My wet hair was plastered to my forehead and I didn't want to use the energy to move it. I was wrapped in a fluffy white towel and I sighed.

I leaned in closer to the mirror, I really needed to get my eyebrows down soon. Instead of waiting, I reached under the sink and found my tweezers. As I was about to pluck the stray hairs, I ran into a problem. I always did that with my left hand. "MOMMY!" I called as loud as I could. It had been years since I had called her "Mommy", but I didn't care. She came running into my bathroom looking flustered.

"Is something wrong?" She asked as she took my face in her hands.

I nodded. "Can you do my eyebrows for me?" She smiled at my and took the tweezers. I closed my eyes and sat down on the lid of the toilet.

"This is going to be a long eight weeks," she joked. I wanted to nod in agreement, but I couldn't or I would be missing a chunk of eyebrow.

"Oh yes." When she finished it was the time I had been leaving for school recently. Only, I was still in a towel and there was no way my cast was going to fit into the tight sleeves of my uniform.

I held the yellow dress in front of me as I tried to figure how to make this work. "Maybe I could cut the sleeve off and then we could just get a new one…?"

Mom shook her head. She was officially in designer mode. "Maybe we could shorten both of the sleeves… no, we could get rid of the sleeves all together!" She went to my desk and pulled a piece of paper out of my printer. She sketched something out and then showed it to me. "What do you think?"

I stared at my mom like she was insane, and I truly believe she is. "Mom… that is a ball gown, not a school uniform. Plus it would take too long. I have school in…" I looked at the clock that was perched on the edge of my nightstand. "Less than a half an hour."

She sighed. "I'll call and get you special permission to wear something different until we get this figured out." She slumped out of my room and down stairs to get to the landline. I stood at my doorway and watched her. I couldn't help but let out a small laugh. I had just realized something, Tamaki and my mom had practically the exact same personalities.

"Why aren't you wearing clothes?" I heard Takai ask. I looked at him. How did I miss him? He was standing right in my line of sight.

I smiled. "I have a towel on." He rolled his eyes at me.

"I gotta get to school. I'll see you after, right?" I nodded, causing my semi-dry hair to fall in my face. "Don't forget Chi."

"I won't Kai." With that he turned away from my room and went down the hall exactly the way mom had. I sat down on my bed. I figured I should put some form of clothing on, but I really didn't want to. I laid back and put my arm over my head. "Ouch!" Wrong arm. That cast really hurt what it hit you in the face.

"I heard an ouch," Mom said. I glanced at her. She had her arm crossed over her chest as she held the phone to her ear with the other. "I'm on hold." I nodded and closed my eyes. "Don't go back to slee- Oh hello Mr. Suoh." I laughed at her and sat up. "Yes, this is Midori Mazawa. That's right. She's doing alright, but we've come across a small…problem."

She stopped talking and listened for I don't know how long. I don't know what he could be saying that was so important, but I didn't really have time. This is why I've never really been on time for anything in my life. I really did learn from the best. I glanced at my clock again. Fifteen minutes. It takes that long just to get to the school and I wasn't dressed. "It really is a shame, she keeps saying she's going to lose it if she doesn't get to run soon." She stopped again and laughed at something he said. "Anyway, we came across a problem this morning. With the cast, Chise is unable to get her arm in the uniform. Would be acceptable if she wore something other than the uniform for a day or two? Just until we figure something out."

She said thank you and hung up the phone. "Yes?" I asked.

"Why are you in a towel? You have to get to school!"

I laughed and got off my bed. I made my way to my dresser to grab a bra and a pair of boy-cut panties. Then I went to my closet. I pulled on a light pink v-neck t-shirt and over it I put on a black flyaway vest. I slipped into a pair of dark wash skinny jeans. "Mom, does this look okay with the cast?" I stepped out of my walk-in closet and saw my mom passed out on my bed. "Lovely," I mumbled. I grabbed my bag, placed a kiss on my mom's cheek and headed out of the door.

I stopped at the main office and had a pass written so I wouldn't be counted late. I was tempted to run down the halls, but I restrained myself. I opened the door to homeroom. "Even this is a new record for you Miss Mazawa," Mr. Akimoto said from his desk without looking up.

"How'd you know it was me?" I asked not all really curious. I was the only one from the class that wasn't in the room.

"Lucky guess," he said sarcastically. It may seem like Mr. Akimoto and I really don't get along, but we do. I've spoken to him a lot about things that I couldn't really talk about with other people.

"Buuut, I have a pass this time," I said with a grin. He looked up at me then. His eyes went straight to my arm. No shock there. I handed him the pass with my good hand and sat on top of the empty desk that was almost right in front of his. "I'm guessing you've heard by now, right?"

He shook his head. "No actually. What happened?"

I laughed slightly. "Coach is blaming it on a pebble that was in my lane, I'm blaming it on my own clumsiness. Either way, no running for me for a long time."

He crossed his arms and nodded. Mr. Akimoto used to run track, way back when he was in school. Okay, it wasn't that long ago. He was only twenty-four, but still. He actually went to college on a full track scholarship. "How long?"

"Seven weeks, five days."

He raised an eyebrow. "You're counting the days?"

I nodded. "Of course. I have nothing to do until I can run again."

After school, it was just my luck to run into Honey and have him ask me if I would have cake with him again. I really didn't want to, but it was impossible for me to say no to him. So I agreed and said I would be there after I got my brother.

Takai was more than happy to go there again. Last time, girls were watching him closely, practically drooling over him. I didn't understand what they saw in my baby brother, but it was cute how he blushed when I told him about it. "Chi-chan! You came again!" Honey said excitedly. I smiled at him.

"Of course I did. It's only fair. You were there for me Saturday, and I'm here for you now," I replied. His smile only widened as he pulled me to the cake covered table. "Kai, don't get into too much trouble, 'kay?" I heard him scoff at me.

Honey handed me a piece of chocolate cake and I nearly ate it with my fingers. At least there was no Izumi to smack the fork from my hand. Wait. No Izumi? But she's always here before practice which she does have to go to today. I looked around the room. No one at all was there except Honey, Mori, Takai, and me. "Um… Honey-senpai?" He looked up at me.

"Yeah?"

"Where's everyone else?"

He smiled at me as he took a bite of his strawberry shortcake. "They're coming," he said with a laugh. I nodded and took a large bite of the chocolate cake. The chair next to me pulled out and Takai sat down. He didn't say anything.

"What's biting you?" I asked him. I could feel his glare on me, but I only smiled at him. "Oh, I get it."

"What do you get?" Both Honey and Takai asked at the same time. I laughed and accidentally hit my casted arm on the table.

I growled at the lime green cast and then answered them. "Kai wanted to be fussed over by high school girls!" I poked him in the side and he lightly hit my hand away.

"I did not," he said, but his slight blush said otherwise.

"My baby brother is a dirty liar," I sang.

"I am not a baby," he grumbled.

I laughed, it was so much fun messing with him. "You were once a baby and my brother at the same time, therefore you are my baby brother." I took another bite of the delicious cake and I never expected the next occurrence to happen. I had a piece of vanilla cake smashed into my face and then another in my hair. I wiped the frosting out of my eyes and glared at Takai.

I was about to threaten him when the doors opened. The rest of the club members walked in and Haruhi stifled a laugh when she saw me. I stood up from my chair. "It's not funny."

"I think you missed your mouth, Sis," Takai said. I was so tempted to shove my chocolate cake into his face, but I decided to be the bigger person. Instead I wiped as much as I could off of me and rubbed it into his hair as best as I could with one hand.

"So did you, Bro." He stood up from his chair and I back up slightly. "No fair! I can't run!" I shouted as he grabbed me lifted me up. "Put me down!"

"What's the magic word?" He taunted.

"NOW!"

"Nope, not even close. Try again."

"Do you want me to hit you with this thing?" I asked pointing to my cast. He put me down then and stepped away. "Yeah, it actually does hurt to get hit with it, trust me..." I said.

I heard a throat clear and I turned to see Kyoya push up his glasses. "What's going on?"

I put my hands behind my back. "Nothin'."

"Then why are you covered in cake?" Haruhi asked, still biting back her laugh.

I shot a glare at Takai. "Because I have an evil little brother."

"Love ya too, Chi," he called to me.

I stuck my tongue out at him. "That's not very lady-like!" Tamaki shouted as he approached me.

I crossed my arms. "Who ever said I was lady-like?"I retorted.

"You're just like Haruhi!" He announced dramatically. Yep, he was definitely just like my mom. I involuntarily laughed at my thought. He took my hand and led me to a couch. I didn't really fight him, I wasn't in the mood to be honest. Next, I heard the shouts and protests of the twins as Mori placed them on the couch next to me. I tried to stand up then.

"What are you doing?" I asked at the same time they did. We growled at each other at the same time too. "Stop that!"

Haruhi was the one that answered our original question. "Something happened between you guys and we're going to fix it."

"Who said we wanted it fixed?" We all asked together again. "Stop talking at the same time I am!" I crossed my arms over my chest and turned so I was facing away from them.

"You never even told me, Chi..." Takai said now closer than he had been before.

"Because it's not a big deal. People grow apart, interests change, we're just different people now," I said trying to sound convincing.

Takai seemed to believe me, but Haruhi didn't. "You're lying," she said simply. I shook my head.

"We didn't want to be friends with her anymore," Kaoru said.

"It was an easy decision once she told us she was in love with someone," Hikaru added. I was so confused. What was he talking about?

"I have no idea what you are talking about Hikaru. We were twelve the last time we really spoke, I didn't know what love meant."

They both laughed coldly. "You told us you were in love with Kyoya," they said together. I felt myself blush deeply and I put my head in my hands. I had said that. I remembered now.

I switched from embarrassed to angry in a matter of seconds. I stood up and looked at them. "I was eleven! It was a silly crush that lasted a week. And you guys promised to keep it a secret!"

Hikaru stood up then. "We promised that when we were friends!"

"Oh right, because promises are instantly void once you stop talking to someone!" I shouted. "I'm sorry, I forgot about that little clause of a promise!"

"Why did you even have to come into our lives?" He shouted back. We were both getting out feelings that we've been holding in for four years. I had a feeling that this wasn't going to end very well.

"Because you let me! Why did you have to kick me out of them?"

"Because we wanted you!"

I opened my mouth to respond, but then his words hit me. They... wanted me? What did he mean by that? "I-I don't..." I said quieter.

"Wait, you had a crush on _him_?" Takai asked. I assumed he was pointing to Kyoya, but I couldn't look away from Hikaru. My eyes wouldn't let me.

"Wait, you... wanted me?" I asked confused. "Wanted me how?"

Hikaru pulled me to him and kissed me deeply. I had never imagined that I would ever be kissing him in a million years. I've wanted this for years. I pushed him off of me. He licked his lips and I guessed it was because of the cake that was still on my face. I got ready to slap him, but I couldn't. "I love you Chise," he said softly.

I took a step backwards. When we were yelling, he hadn't said _he_ wanted me. He had said _we_. Meaning Kaoru probably felt the same way... and he just saw his brother kiss me. "I have to, um... go." I grabbed Takai by his arm and walked out of that room as fast as I could.

That explained so much though. They both had the same feelings. They didn't want to hurt the other by going after me. So they got rid of the third wheel a.k.a me. I don't want to come between two brothers. I don't care how much I love them both in return. I couldn't... can't.

That's all I seem to think anymore. Couldn'ts and can'ts. It should be I wouldn't, I won't come between them.

* * *

**Hey people of Mars! That's right, while you were reading this fanfic, you were transported to Mars. Yes, I am very weird and very tired... And it's still early!**

**Okay, I think I've answered a few questions in this chapter, at least I hope I did... If not or you're confused on anything, just ask and I'll try and explain further. Unless it's going to be in later chapters... In that case, however I will tell you.**

**I wish it was Thursday... I ordered Kuma-chan from Amazon and I really want him! You know, Tamaki's teddy bear, I think he's adorable and soon he shall be mine MUHAHAHAHAHA! I'm so excited and that is why you all get to enjoy this quickly updated chapter today.**

**Anyway please review and tell me what you think xD**


	9. Happy? Birthday Part 1

Hikaru and Kaoru just don't understand that I don't like overly extravagant things as they do. I didn't want to go on a fancy cruise around the Caribbean. Sure they looked disappointed about that, but too bad for them. It was my birthday and they were going to be spending it with me where I wanted to go.

And that place just so happens to have been the zoo. To be more specific, the petting zoo. "Come on!" I shouted as I pulled both of them and our moms through the crowd of people toward that one specific part of the zoo. I smiled brightly as I saw the llamas and the goats and I started to run over to the wooden fence that encircled the animals. I jumped up on the lowest rail that went along the fence, I reached my hand out and a llama pushed its nose into my palm.

I heard Mom laugh. "It really likes you Chise," she joked. I didn't look at her though, I ran my hand across the llama's snout and giggled. I had never actually touched one before.

We stayed at the zoo for hours, mostly because I refused to leave willingly and Mom didn't want to make a scene by carrying me. Hikaru and Kaoru were bored, it was clear, but just before we left I took them back to the petting zoo. "But we've been here already!" They complained.

"So, you guys didn't touch even one of the animals. You will pet a llama or we will move in here." I crossed my arms over my chest and stared at them.

"You're pushy now that you're ten," Kaoru said. I stuck my tongue out at him.

* * *

I was late again today. So much for wanting to turn over a new leaf. "What's the excuse this morning Miss Mazawa?" Mr. Akimoto asked.

I shrugged. "I overslept, then Mom made me eat breakfast." He looked at me worriedly. We both knew I only made up ridiculous excuses as a way of entertainment anymore. Being overly dramatic was in my nature, so I was in no way surprised by his concern.

"Is everything okay?" He asked.

I nodded and gave him a smile. "Of course. What would be wrong?" I made my way to my desk and sat down. He was only one desk away form me. Both of them were. For the longest time I had been able to ignore them completely, but now that was all out the window.

Damn Hikaru for kissing me like that. Why did his lips have to be so warm and so sweet. Okay, the sweet part was probably Takai's fault, but why did Hikaru have to do it in the first place? I wasn't just going to forgive him for everything just because his lips were on mine.

It would take a lot more than that for him to get back on my good side.

* * *

I never thought I would be jealous of my brother. Years ago we decided that neither of us were going to pursue her to protect each other. He went against that, but I guess he had his reasons. I hadn't asked Hikaru why he had decided to kiss her, I was curious, but I didn't ask.

She didn't seem to know what to think about it which could be good. It was possible she also had have feelings for him, but what did that mean for me? If they started dating, not only would I lose my brother, but I would also lose any chance I had with the only girl I have really ever loved. My brother would be happy though and I wanted that, but isn't this why we decided to stay away from her? To keep our relationship right where it was?

All through homeroom, I couldn't keep my eyes off of her. Only days ago I was able to not think about her. Now all I can picture is her and Hikaru together.

"Hey, are you okay?" Haruhi asked the girl that I couldn't stop thinking about, Chise turned around to look at her. Who would have guessed that these two would ever become friends? They are completely different people, but both were the people that had actually broken into our world.

Especially Chise, the things she knows about us could make even Kyoya's knowledge of people seem inferior.

"I'm really tired and really annoyed and my side really hurts."

"That was a lot of 'really's." Haruhi said. "Why are you annoyed?"

Chise rolled her eyes. "Many, many reasons. My brother turned off my alarm this morning because it woke him up, so it didn't go off again; Mom knew I was late, but she still made me stay and eat breakfast before I got dressed; this green menace gets in the way of everything; I think there is still cake in my hair… do you want me to go on? Because I easily could."

Haruhi seemed to take in everything she had said. "Did you call your cast a green menace?"

Chise nodded. "I accidentally slept on it last night and now there's a huge bruise on my side and it really hurts."

Haruhi chuckled, giggled really. "Well that wasn't too bright."

Chise smiled then. "I have never claimed to be bright. I've only ever said I was me."

"And what would that be Miss Mazawa?" I hadn't realized that Mr. Akimoto had been listening to them and apparently neither had Chise. She nearly jumped out of her chair when he spoke.

"You could be a ninja, you know," Chise said to him. He merely smiled and pulled up a chair next to them. "I don't know," she said answering his question.

"You're nice," Haruhi said.

Chise laughed. "That depends on who you ask."

"You're easy to talk to," Izumi added as she joined their little group. "And you actually listen."

"That's because I care about people, probably more than I should. If I didn't care, I wouldn't try and talk to anyone," she explained.

"Is that why you didn't even try to talk to us anymore?" I asked, I couldn't help it and the words were out before I even thought them through. She looked at me with her warm brown eyes. I felt like I was melting under her gaze.

Then suddenly her eyes narrowed and I felt myself freeze. She's never given me that hostile of a look, Hikaru sure, but not me. "Don't you dare blame that on me," she said coldly.

Izumi cleared her throat and Chise looked away from me, softening her gaze as she did so. "Anyway, I wanted to give you this Chise," the girl handed Chise something that was in an envelope. "It's from the team, we all just wanted to tell you something, but we couldn't all be here now." Chise smiled and opened up the envelope.

She let out a squeal of excitement. "I completely forgot!"

Izumi laughed. "Happy birthday Chise!"

In all honesty, I forgot about her birthday too. She's seventeen today and she always said that the day she turned seventeen she was going to skip school and go on a week long road trip just to see what it was like. So much for that plan of hers.

* * *

Why didn't Mom say anything this morning? Knowing her, she probably forgot too. She is really one of the most scatterbrained people I know and I often wonder why I had to have that in common with her. Of all the things that I could have gotten from her, it had to be that. Of course it wouldn't be her artistic ability or her voice when she sings, nothing positive. I'm not that lucky.

I was glad that it was finally lunch time. I hated having to sit in a room with them right behind me all day. This was one way that I knew I wouldn't have to see them for an hour. Plus, I could check on the baby chicks that were in my tree. They hatched a few weeks ago and it would still be a while before they learned to fly and were able to leave their nest.

A smile spread across my lips as their chirps became audible. I sat down on my bench and leaned my head back. The mama bird was on the edge of the nest and appeared to be watching over her babies. I laughed with the thought that no matter the species mothers were mothers. "What's so funny?" I nearly fell off the bench as I heard the voice of the supposed Host Club "king."

I looked at him and even him nearly giving me a heart attack couldn't ruin the good mood I was in at this moment in time. I shrugged. He took my good hand and kissed it. "Happy birthday, Princess." I giggled and could have sworn I blushed. All I can say, is this has been a very strange day.

"Thanks," I said quietly and pulled my hand back. I tilted my head so I could once again see the nest. The mama wasn't visible anymore, but I had a feeling that she was just trying to keep her chicks warm. I always sat on this bench sideways with my legs stretched out, I pulled my knees up to my chest to make room for him. "Please, sit."

He smiled at me and did as I had said. "What are you looking at?"

"There's a nest up there with chicks in it. They are only," I counted the weeks off with my fingers, "three and a half weeks old. I've been watching them everyday since I noticed the nest." I lowered my eyes to look at him. He was looking up. "Can't you hear them?" Tamaki looked back at me and nodded with a smile.

For some reason I felt the need to look over my shoulder and see what was behind me. I guess he had been followed, or I just hadn't noticed him there before. "Well, hello there," I said. He adjusted his glasses and smiled at me. He had been writing something in his notebook and he closed it as he began talking to me.

"We, the Host Club, would like to apologize for… yesterday," he said formally. I just waved away his words. They were only words after all.

"Don't worry about it. I've moved on, he's probably moved on too," I said. I knew I was lying. I hadn't moved on at all. I could still feel his lips and the tingle they had caused. I swung my feet off of the bench and scooted over closer to Tamaki. He seemed to understand and took a seat next to me.

"Chise!" I heard Izumi's voice call. She was flailing her arms over her head and running toward me. I felt a pang in my heart at the sight of running. She made it to me and I leaned over so my elbows were resting on my knees.

"Can you not do that?" I glanced up at her and she looked confused. "That faster than walking thing?" I couldn't even bring myself to say running.

She sat down on my lap and wrapped her arms around my neck. "I'm sorry! Will you ever forgive me?" I laughed and pushed her off of me.

"Maybe some day… but first!" I jumped up off the bench. "You should throw me a surprise birthday party."

She just stared at me like I was insane. "But it wouldn't be a surprise…"

"I was joking." She rolled her eyes and I sat back down.

"You're not funny."

"Because I'm hilarious, right?" She sat down on my lap again, but all she did was sit there. Then she looked on either side of me.

"Well hello boys," she said to Tamaki and Kyoya when she realized they were sitting there.

* * *

**I had to stop this chapter at an anti-climatic part and split it into two because I honestly just wanted to get this out for all of you to enjoy! So please review and tell me what you thought xD**


	10. Happy? Birthday Part 2

"Kai, what are you doing?" I asked my little brother curiously as we sat in our backyard.

He looked at me and held up a sketchbook. "Drawing. What are you doing?"

I pointed to my head. "Thinking." His eyes became worried. I loved that my brother, though younger than me, worried like a parent. Maybe even more so.

"What about?" I let out a humorless laugh as I laid back in the grass and ran my hands over the green blades. I looked at the clouds over head and imagined I could see Hikaru and Kaoru in them. They were all I had been able to think about when I had nothing to keep my mind busy over these past two years. I never let Mom or Takai or Dad know about what happened. I told them that we just never saw each other anymore because of school.

"Nothing… everything."

He put a hand over his heart. "That's some philosophical stuff." I threw a handful of grass at him and he covered up his drawing. I laughed though. Takai had that way about him that made my mind leave the thought of the Hitachiins behind and want to move on. It was my stupid heart that kept bringing them back though.

I hated this so much. I needed them around to keep myself sane. That, or I needed something to keep myself distracted at least during daylight hours. I sat up and Takai brushed the grass I had thrown on to my head. "I think I'm going to join the track team," I announced. He looked at me like I was crazy. "Why not? I like running and then I can stop being so "philosophical"."

He laughed. "Maybe that is a good idea then." I stood up an pushed him over.

"You're so mean!" I said while laughing with him.

* * *

There's something about Izumi that always makes me smile. It is also the one thing that makes others look at her weird. She's not afraid to be herself which just so happens to be a manga obsessed, out-going, strange, fun person. I was glad that we were able to work with partners on our history questions today, I needed to talk to her. "Yessum?" She asked as she sat down next to me. I also loved how I didn't have to say anything for her to know I needed to talk to her.

"We have to do something this weekend to celebrate," I whispered since we were supposed to only be talking about history. She smiled brightly and accidentally let out an excited squeal. Mr. Kazinuki cleared his throat audibly over the low roar of voices in the room. Everyone quieted down.

Izumi put on an innocent yet apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, but history just really excites me." There were a few laughs from the guys that were immature enough to think "excites" in a sexual manner. I rolled my eyes at them. Mr. Kazinuki nodded toward her and looked back down at the stack of papers he had been grading. "So what were you thinking exactly?" She asked while wiggling her eyebrows at me.

"I have no idea. We could throw a wild party, my parents aren't home this weekend…" She laughed at my suggestion. "Seriously though, I have no idea whatsoever." She grinned evilly and I leaned away from her slightly. I didn't like that look.

"We will go to your house. We will watch movies. We will gorge on every unhealthy food imaginable. We will talk about boys. We will throw things at your brother. We will stay up all night telling ghost stories. We will have fun and you will not complain." I thought for a moment.

"What kind of movies?" She laughed, once again causing Mr. Kazinuki to draw attention to us.

She stood up and held her opened book over her head. "Oh beloved history Gods, thank you for bringing me into this wonderful class!"

"Miss Senmatsu, that's enough. Either keep it down or move back to your own seat," he warned. She slowly sat back down in the chair she had pulled up to my desk and made a motion of zipping her lips. As soon as he also returned to his previous endeavors, I lightly punched her in the arm. She rubbed it in silent anger. She really didn't want to go back to her seat -which just so happens to be on the other side of the room. I looked down at my opened textbook and felt my brain melt.

"I hate history…" I grumbled at the book. "Yeah, I said it. I hate you."

"Are you talking to your book?"

I turned around in my seat and looked at Haruhi. "Yes, yes I am. Thank you for asking." I leaned my head down on her desk and sighed heavily. "I hate history, it's so annoying. Why do we have to learn about things that happened hundreds of years ago?"

"Miss Mazawa, pick your head up, this isn't nap time." I lifted my head slowly and resisted the urge to put it back down. "If you stayed awake, maybe you would be passing," he said. Izumi snickered and I glared at her. Unlike Mr. Akimoto, Mr. Kazinuki really didn't like me at all. I figured it was because I really didn't like his class and he knew it. I got in trouble from him a lot in the past and I'm sure there is more trouble to be had in the future.

"If I stayed awake, maybe I would also slip into a coma from boredom…" I mumbled under my breath. Haruhi stifled a laugh and I couldn't help smiling.

"You might not want to talk to her much longer, she'll corrupt you too," Izumi told Haruhi in a hushed yet dramatic voice. I just shrugged. I don't know how right she may be. "Why do you think her brother is so… weird? She got to him."

I rolled my eyes at her and resisted laughing at the face she was making. "I did not, he's just naturally that way," I said as I crossed my arms. "And also hates history more than I do." I said that a little louder, making sure Mr. Kazinuki could hear me. I swear he said a prayer as he looked up at the ceiling. I did laugh then.

"Your dimple is really cute when you laugh…" I stopped laughing and looked at the voice that had said that. I hadn't even noticed that Hikaru and Kaoru were sitting on either side of Haruhi. Why wouldn't they though, she could tell them apart, why wouldn't they hang around her? I think I feel jealous of Haruhi… when did this happen? I don't care that they found someone else, I'm happy that they did. It's what they needed. Someone that they can trust and confide in.

Then the words of what he had said hit me. "You're not allow to look at my dimple Kaoru." I knew it hadn't been Kaoru who said it, it was Hikaru and it was Hikaru that I looked at now, but too bad for him. He looked hurt that I had called him by the wrong name. I felt my lips pull up to a smirk. "I'm sorry, was I wrong? Oh that's right, you're Hikaru, the one that goes around kissing people." I hated that they brought out the worst in me, but if I didn't try and keep them away at the distance they kept me at, my feelings would turn me stupid and I would bend to their will.

"Wait, what happened!" Izumi shouted. Good thing for her, Mr. Kazinuki wasn't in the room. "And you didn't tell me?" She asked quieter. I looked at her and the smirk I had been wearing for Hikaru dropped. I couldn't believe that I upset her, I never wanted to do that, I wasn't going to necessarily tell her either.

"It's not important Izumi…" She gave me a look that said we'd talk about it later.

Sure enough, the final bell rang and Izumi pulled me out of the classroom all the way to a courtyard that was rarely ever used by anyone. "Tell me what happen," she demanded. I put my hands behind my back and pulled on my fingers. "Oh my God, it was that big!" I looked down at my feet. How was I supposed to tell her what happened? I knew she was like in love with them, they were the ones that she was late to practice for.

"Promise you won't get mad?" I said and glanced up at her through my eyelashes. She smiled at me and nodded. "Hikaru kissed me yesterday…" I mumbled. "And then, he told me he loved me." I lifted my head up all the way and looked into her eyes. She was grinning like a fool and a giggle escaped her lips. "What?"

She took my hands and giggled more. "A guy said he loved you and you were worried that I was going to get mad?" She asked loudly. Her smile dropped when she realized that I wasn't joining her in her excitement. "But that's not all is it?"

I shook my head. "He said that was why he and Kaoru ended our friendship. Because they both liked me." Then she started laughing. A loud uncontrolled laugh that made me feel like an idiot for saying anything to her.

"Chise, you were freaking out because not only one boy loves you, but two? And they just so happen to be twins. Ridiculously gorgeous twins, I might add. If anything, I would think that you would be freaking out in a good way…"

I couldn't believe that she really didn't understand. I've told her before about how I used to be with them. Why would she think this was good? I put on a smile. "Yeah, you're right. What was I thinking?" She smiled again and started jumping from excitement. "Hey, hey. Please stop while you're holding onto me!" She let go of my hands, but continued jumping.

I couldn't have gotten home fast enough. I just wanted to go to bed and forget the way Izumi reacted to the worst thing that could have ever happened to me. Of course, I wasn't able to got to bed. Of course my mom had to act like Super Mom and surprise me with a "party" if it could really be considered a party. Only she, Dad, and Takai were there. If it weren't for the cake on the table, I would have thought it was just time for dinner. "Since your father and I won't be home this weekend, we thought we'd have a little family celebration tonight," Mom said happily. I put on my happy smile and looked at the cake. "Happy 17th Birthday Chise," it read.

"Thanks Mom, thanks Dad," I said.

If anything interesting happened, I wasn't paying attention for it. We ate dinner, and then cake. I vaguely heard laughter every now and then and then I would laugh to try and make them think things were okay.

I went up to my room with one last piece of cake for the night and instantly thought of the kiss with Hikaru. I had been wearing cake after all, how could I not think of it while holding a piece of cake. I couldn't look at it the same anymore and dropped it into the garbage can that was next to my desk. I plopped into the chair and it spun around in a half circle, so I was facing the desk that held my computer and a dozen other various items.

I opened up a drawer and pushed things out of the way until I found what I was looking for. It had been years since I last looked at it or even thought of it. I placed the long since abandoned notebook on the surface of the desk and flipped through the pages of lists. All of them of differences between seemingly identical items. The one page in particular that I had once spent all my time pouring over was the only one that was completely covered and leaking over to the next page.

That page was labeled; Hikaru and Kaoru: Differences. Even now all of these differences were still so obvious to me that I couldn't understand how people didn't notice them right away. A tear slid down my cheek and landed on the paper.

Never in my life have I cried as much as I have over these past few weeks.

* * *

**Well, I don't think that was too long of a wait... And I really do apologize for ending the previous chapter the way I did. I should have at least added a few more words...**

**I want to thank Padlock for the idea for this memory and a belated thank you to DemonOfTheRain666 for the idea of the previous memory. Both of you helped a whole lot and I am indebted to you both, if you need anything, just ask and I'll try and help with whatever it is ^^**

**So, plese review and give me opinions, I live off of your reviews. Literally, they give me the life to write more in a (usually) timely matter. **


	11. Carl von Cebbelpot

We still saw her at school, we still saw her when we went with Mom to her studio. When we would pass her in the halls at school, she would quickly look down at her feet and just keep walking. In the studio, she wasn't always there physically, but she was everywhere in that large cluttered room. There were pictures of her around her mother's working space and sometimes she would leave little things lying around. Whether it was intentional or not, it didn't matter. I wanted to stop her, just once, and tell her that I was sorry for hurting her, but that it was for the best. I never got the chance though.

Hikaru often reminded me about why it had to have been done. "Do we really want to lose each other because of one stupid girl?" He would ask. Once I replied with that she wasn't stupid. He didn't disagree, but he didn't exactly agree either. It was true though, she wasn't, she just really didn't like school so her grades weren't always the best.

I hated that she looked sad. I hadn't realized that we were the only ones she talked to until she sat quietly in class by herself. It was clear to me that we probably could have chosen a better way to protect ourselves. At the time, it had seemed fool proof.

When she joined the track team, that was when I realized that she really didn't care about us anymore. Two years had gone by and she didn't even try and ask what happened or try and fix anything. I guess I should have been thankful for that, but I wasn't. I hoped that she would stop me one day to tell me that she has been just as miserable without me as I have been without her.

That didn't happen.

I watched as she replaced us with Izumi and her other teammates. She was happy again, but we were still alone.

* * *

Mom and Dad left for wherever it was that they are going. I'm sure they told me at one point where it was, but I was just looking forward to having the house to myself. Well, except for Takai, but he's alright. "Right now, you are too quiet."

I snapped out of my thought to look at Izumi. She was going to spend the entire weekend here with me while celebrating my birthday with me. "Sorry," I mumbled. She gave me a stern look. "What?"

"I hope you don't mind that I invited a few more people to our little weekend celebration." I stared at her incredulously. Her lips turned up in a grin that I really didn't like.

"Who'd you invite?" Her grin turned sly and she turned around to leave my room just as the doorbell rang. I narrowed my eyes at her back and she turned down the hall heading for the door. Despite every fiber of my being telling me to stay put, to possibly lock the door, I followed her. One of the maids had answered the door.

Standing in my house, each holding what looked like an over-night bag, was none other than the Ouran Host Club. I stayed at the top of the staircase; I couldn't believe that she invited them to my house without my permission. I thought she was going to say some girls from track were here. The fact that she invited them proves she really doesn't get it.

A hand went on my shoulder and I let out an ear-splitting scream. Then that same hand went over my mouth, which of course, only caused me to scream louder. "Shut up Chi!" My brother's voice shouted over my screaming. I turned around to look at him.

"You are such a jerk!" I shouted at him as I punched his shoulder.

"What's wrong?" At least four voices asked from behind me. I looked over my shoulder. Hikaru, Kaoru, Honey, Tamaki, and Mori were all standing there with concerned looks, even Mori. Takai started to say something, but before he could actually say anything, I interrupted him.

"You see, I was calmly walking down the hall to see who was at the door," I began. As I opened my mouth to say more, Takai took over.

"I was also curious as to who was at the door. I saw Chi standing here, so I placed my hand on her shoulder," he explained.

"Then he saw a huge spider and screamed like a girl. When I killed it, he screamed even louder."

He glanced at me. "Yeah, that's exactly what happened alright." I smiled. "It's not like you were the one that screamed because you thought I was the deranged murderer that lives in our basement, out to get you."

The look on Tamaki's face was almost enough to me tell him that we were just joking. Almost, but not quite. I put my hands on either side of my face. "I forgot to feed him yesterday!" I shouted and started panicking. "He's going to kill us all!"

"Miss Mazawa, please lower your voice!" One of the maids called up the stairs to me. "You're going to wake him up!" I covered my mouth quickly and dropped to the floor. It's been a household joke that the crazed murderer Carl von Cebbelpot lives in our basement. It was actually Kaoru and I that came up with it when we were down there one day. We heard a strange noise and came running up the stairs, we made up this whole elaborate story about him while we told our mom's about what we heard. It was the furnace turning on.

I felt someone get on the floor next to me and I covered my head with my hands. "Carl von Cebbelpot is going to get us!" Kaoru shouted. I lifted my head up and laughed. I sat back on my knees and laughed hard. I forgot how funny it was when he said the name. He sat up too and I put my arm over his shoulders as I fell back to the ground.

"Get down; he always goes for the tallest first!" I stage-whispered to everyone that was still standing.

"That's right, he's jealous that he was unable to grow taller than only three feet. Anyone over that is a goner," Kaoru explained. I turned my head to the side to look at him. "We also have to get out of the open." He looked at me with his golden eyes and I nodded in agreement. I pushed him gently down the hall as we crawled to my bedroom door. He reached up and turned the knob. He moved to the side and let me go through first. It was then that I realized that no one else was playing along and they were all looking at us strangely.

I stood up and pulled Kaoru up with me. "What? Didn't you ever play pretend as a child?" No one answered my question, but Izumi was wearing a large smile and looking down at my hand. I followed her gaze to see that I was still holding onto Kaoru's hand. It was something I used to do all the time. I dropped his hand and went into my room. I plopped down onto my desk chair and spun around in it.

I heard the door close and I assumed that everyone had followed me. I spun all the way around to see that my assumption was correct. "Make yourselves comfortable."

Izumi came toward me and sat down on my lap. "So, who is Carson van Cobblepot?" She asked as she looked around at the guys (and Haruhi) in my room.

"It's Carl von Cebbelpot," Kaoru and I corrected her at the same time. I looked at him, but not in the way I have been recently. I looked at him curiously. I never would have imagined that he had remembered such a thing.

"He's the murderer in the basement," he said.

"That lets out a long hiss and then growls when he is awoken," I added. "It's said that he is part snake, part lion, and part human."

"He also hates it when people ask how that is possible," Kaoru said seriously. I spun in my chair again to face the desk. "Only one picture has ever been taken of him too." I pulled open a drawer and dug through it until I found the picture Takai had drawn of Carl.

"He's not very attractive, but that doesn't stop him from placing spells on women to make then fall in love with him," I said as I held up the picture for everyone. Kaoru took it from my hand and looked it over.

He laughed. "I forgot he had a forked tongue."

"Of course! It's what makes him part snake. Well that and the snake tail that has."

Haruhi chuckled. "Snakes don't have tails," she said. I looked at her. I couldn't believe that she was serious. Snakes had tails. Didn't they?

"I thought that their entire body was considered a tail…" I said. Takai laughed and I grabbed a notebook out of the drawer and threw it at him. Only when it left my hand, did I realize which notebook it was. I jumped out of my chair causing Izumi to fall to the floor. I ran to try and catch the notebook before it got to my brother. I failed miserably. All of the papers that I had stuffed into it were scattered around the room and it landed wide open on the floor. If it had been just any other notebook, it wouldn't have mattered. It had to have been this one? It had to have been my comparison notebook. Everyone started picking up the various papers and obviously when people pick up papers they look at them. I just hoped that the ones about Hikaru and Kaoru had stayed in the notebook.

No such luck.

I saw Hikaru holding a piece of paper that was entirely filled with my writing and I knew instantly which paper it was. It was the last one I had wrote on, it was the one that had my true feelings written on it; both good and bad. He looked up at me and a grin crossed his face. He handed the paper to Kaoru and his face soon matched that of his brother. I think I realized why I liked Izumi so much, she was just like them.

They crossed the room to me and placed their arms around me. "So, you love us too," they said together.

"Didn't you read the rest of that paper? It also says that you are both jerks and that I never wanted to see you again for as long as I lived." I let out a sigh. "I guess I didn't live nearly as long as I thought I was going to."

"Why can't you just admit it?" Hikaru asked none too politely. I looked at him.

"Oh, you mean by grabbing one of you and just kissing away? I don't think so." He looked hurt by that, but it didn't matter anymore. The memories I had been remembering weren't now and they weren't relevant to right now.

"It was a long time ago…" I said quietly and wriggled my way out of their slackened hold. I sat on the edge of my bed and looked down at my lap. "But we can forget all that and be friends again, right?" I asked in a hopeful tone. "I would rather be friends with you guys than hate you." They pulled me off of my bed and hugged me tightly. I hadn't expected them to be this enthusiastic about my idea.

Maybe this would work out alright. Maybe I will just begin to think of them as friends again.

I certainly hope so…

* * *

**Oh goodness, it certainly has been a long time hasn't it? I do apologize for that, I've have it written forever and I was just too lazy to type it out on my brand new (much needed) laptop! My old desktop died... Yes, I had to work that in, I am still excited about it even though it is a week old already today ^^**

**ShatterTheHeavens deserves a thank you for the memory xD Yes, i know that lately I have been asking you readers for memory ideas. I pick completely randomly from reviewers or other people I have been talking to for various reasons. **

**Also, my friend Meghan has made me very jealous because she just learned that she went to the same Junior High as Vic Mignogna! Also known as the English voice of one Tamaki Suoh. And he also told her that himself xD Jealous.**

**Okay, I think that's it! I've thanked, told something about my life, and explained why I am jealous... OH YEAH! Also, please review!**


	12. Fuji, Hoshi, and Hallway Kisses?

They had a strange obsession with playing dress up that really shouldn't seem that strange to me since I know their mom. What I found strange and very annoying was that they felt the need to use me as their human doll. "But you look so cute Chise!" They exclaimed.

I looked at myself in the full length mirror and cringed in fright. They had put me in a puffy pink sparkly dress. It was not that the dress was ugly, but it was just not my taste at all. "I feel like an idiot and look like Mrs. Puff."

Hikaru scoffed and took a lock of my brown hair in his hand. "Mrs. Puff is blond and a fish," he said. I punched him in his shoulder. Not very hard, but not very soft either.

"You're not nearly as funny as you think you are," I replied curtly. Kaoru told me to close my eyes, I did. He placed something on my head and I heard the sounds of scissors cutting fabric. I was confused to say the least.

I could hear them high-five each other. "You can open your eyes," Hikaru said. I slowly opened my left eye and peeked at the mirror. They hadn't touched the dress, but there was a hat on my head. It was an intricate black hat that had white silk roses on it. Gently, I touched one of the roses and smiled at them.

"I am keeping this hat," I said. They smiled and nodded. I carefully lifted it off of my head and placed it on my dresser. "I refuse to put on another dress though." I reached by hind me to try and untie it. They would have made it difficult for me to get out of this pinkness.

* * *

"So exactly how long do you all plan on staying in my house while my parents are away?" I asked both curious and a little bitter about Izumi inviting them out of the blue. Honey came bouncing over to where I sat on the edge of my bed.

He gave me a huge smile as she said, "All weekend!" If I hadn't been sitting down, I would have probably been on the floor. I heard Takai laugh and I instantly looked at him.

"What do you find so funny?" I asked him. He stopped laughing slightly and looked at me with a challenging look.

"The fact that I can laugh at you all I want and you can't do a thing about it." I narrowed my eyes at him and stood up. He took a step closer to the door, not out of fright, but as a taunting maneuver. He was mocking the fact that if he ran I still couldn't chase after him.

I sighed and sat down on the floor. "You're a terrible brother, Kai." I put my face in my hands. The doctor said nothing strenuous, did that include no stress? Stress could be very strenuous and I'm pretty sure nothing could get much more stressful than right now. I felt a hand go on my shoulder and I lifted my head.

"I'm sorry Chi," he said. "I was just joking." I smiled and hugged him around his neck. He hugged me back and I heard him laugh again.

"Seriously, what's so funny?" Takai motioned with his head toward Tamaki. I looked to the side, over his arm and saw Tamaki crying. "Why is Tamaki crying funny?"

Tamaki pulled a tissue out of nowhere and blew his nose. "That was just so beautiful." Takai and I both stared at him in confusion.

"I'm sorry, I don't speak crazy," we said together. I stood up and held onto Takai as I did so. Takai looked at me.

"He reminds me of Mom…" he said none too quietly. I laughed and nodded in agreement.

"I realized that a long time ago actually."

"Of course little Miss Perfect noticed that," he said sarcastically. I pushed him gently and then took a step as I started to push him toward the door. "Where are you taking me?"

I smiled. "Whatever do you mean dear little brother? I'm not taking you anywhere; I am simply attempting to push you out of my room." Attempting, being the keyword there. He wasn't actually moving and I'm sure I looked like an idiot not being able to push him even a little. "When did you get so heavy?" He stuck his tongue out at me. "Great, now you're five."

He smirked. "Oh, you want five do you?" I stopped pushing him as he ran to my door and opened it to yell down the hall. "Airi! Chise's being mean to me!" He whined. Airi was one of the maids that used to take care of us when Mom and Dad were away for various reasons. She walked calmly to him and placed her hand over his mouth as he was about to say more.

"Miss Chise, why is he yelling?" Airi was an older woman, though not old. In her mid-forties and her hair was beginning to gray, but that was no surprise after everything Takai and I put her through when we were younger and apparently even know.

I shrugged and sat back down on my bed. "I have no idea, one second he was sitting calmly and the next he was shouting down the hall." She knew I was lying and gave me a stern look. I sighed. "I tried to push him out of my room and he got mad." Airi looked away from me and removed her hand from his mouth.

"What are you, five?" She asked him with a smile. She grabbed his ear, I never really understood why she did that, but it did hurt and she took him down the hall with her. "There you go Miss Chise!" She called back to me.

"You're a life saver Airi!" I called as I shut the door. "So, now that that's done, what are we going to do?" Izumi crossed her arms and I could practically see her imagining what she wanted to do with the Host Club in a room without any adults or other girls (not including me). "No Izumi."

She pouted and whined, "But why not?"

"Because I'm not in the mood for that right now," I answered as I rolled so I was lying on my stomach on my bed. Hikaru and Kaoru appeared on either side of me also lying on their stomachs. "I don't know, we could watch a movie or something…" Izumi smiled and rushed over to my closet to look for something.

"When was the last time you cleaned this thing Chise?" She asked over her shoulder as she pushed her hands through the pig sty that was my closet. I shrugged and laid my head on my hands.

"Like, two –no three years ago. Why? Oh no, you put something in there, didn't you?" She turned around and looked at me.

"She lost our puppy in there once," Hikaru said.

"Yeah, that was a sad day, so we took her unicorn," Kaoru added. I sat up and stared at the twins on my bed.

"You took Fuji?" They looked over their shoulders at me and smirked. "I thought Kai stole him… or that he was forever lost to the evil closet of doom." I grabbed one of my pillows and hit them over their heads with it. "You jerks!"

They sat up and Hikaru took the pillow away from me. "You actually lost Hoshi!" Kaoru accused. I smiled and shook my head. I hopped over Kaoru to get off of my bed and went to my closet.

"I know exactly where Hoshi is, but you won't get him until I get Fuji," I taunted from in front of my closet where Izumi was still trying to find whatever it was that she put in there. I glanced at her and rolled my eyes. "Whatever you put in there is lost to this world."

"You know, if I didn't know better, I would never think this was once a walk in closet," she grumbled probably to herself.

I scoffed at her. "It still is, you just don't know how to maneuver around the mess."

"Why don't you just have your maids clean it for you?" Hikaru asked. I glanced at him.

"Because they are all scared of it and I don't want them too. I have important things in this portal to the underworld I call my closet."

"Portal to the underworld?" Haruhi questioned.

"Yes, that is where I assume all of the things lost in there go…"

Izumi looked up at me from where she knelt on the floor in front of the closet. Her eyes shone with tears threatening to fall. "You mean my anime collection is in the underworld now?" I tried my hardest to not laugh.

"That wasn't in there. Your anime collection is over there." I pointed to the bottom shelf on my bookcase and she jumped to her feet in joy.

She inspected all of them and then looked at me with a strange expression. "They're alphabetized… by genre."

I shrugged. "I got bored one day."

We sat around watching movies and Izumi's anime collection until everyone started passing out one by one. Ironically, Izumi was the first one out while we were watching her favorite anime, Inuyasha. Not long after her, Honey and Kyoya were asleep; then Tamaki, Haruhi, and Mori, leaving just the twins and myself awake. I turned off the TV and went to go lay down somewhere that wasn't covered in food crumbs or people.

My search was in vain, so I started to try and clean some of the food up. I picked up bags of various kinds of chips and candy only to drop them onto the floor because I couldn't hold them well with my cast-covered arm. I knelt down and growled at the bags. Four pairs of hands came over to help me. "Thanks," I said to Hikaru and Kaoru.

"No problem," they replied together. Even though I suggested that we just forget any feelings that we have for each other, other than those of purely friendship I couldn't help but still feel something more towards them both. I should know better than to think just because I said that we should doesn't mean it's possible. Maybe if I just give it some time, then they will.

The three of us walked in silence down to the kitchen. I opened up the pantry and closed the bags as I placed them on their designated shelves. "Chise, can I ask you something?" Kaoru asked from behind me. I turned around to face him.

"Sure," I said with a nod. I moved so I could sit at the small kitchen table and motioned for them to also sit down.

Kaoru sat in the chair and stared at his hands in his lap. "Why didn't you try and talk to us?" I was surprised by his question. Why hadn't I? I certainly thought about talking to them enough. Why didn't I even attempt to say anything after that day?

I glanced at the table for a second before looking at his golden eyes. "I was upset. I thought you two had gotten bored with me like you did with everything else. I didn't want to talk to you at first; I wanted nothing to do with either of you. Then I realized that wasn't true, but I thought it was too late. I thought nothing I would say mattered, so I didn't even try." I smiled and looked over to Hikaru. "But everything's okay now, right?"

They stood up from their chairs and placed their arms over my shoulders. "As soon as we get Hoshi, everything will be just fine," they taunted. I scoffed at them and stood up.

As awkward as it felt, I placed my hands on my hips. "I want my Fuji back."

"We have Fuji here with us, now give us the dog or the unicorn gets it," Hikaru said.

"Prove you have Fuji and I'll get Hoshi." We headed back upstairs and they went into my room while I walked past it and into Takai's. He was fast asleep and I easily slipped into his closet. I reached up to the top shelf and felt around until I felt the furriness that was Hoshi. I pulled the stuffed dog down. On my way out of the room, I stopped next to his bed and pulled his blanket up to his chin and placed a kiss on his forehead.

I hugged the dark brown dog to my chest as I left my brother's bedroom. Hikaru and Kaoru were standing outside of my door, it looked like they were talking about something, but I didn't really want to know what it was. They both looked at me and I held out the brown dog at the same time Kaoru held out the blue unicorn. "Fuji!" I said excitedly and started to run toward him.

Hikaru stood in front of my unicorn, causing me to run into him. "You shouldn't be running," he said simply. I frowned and put the dog behind my back.

"I want Fuji."

"We want Hoshi."

I held Hoshi tight behind my back and took a step back. "Fuji first." Hikaru shook his head and took a step back until he was standing right next to his twin.

They shook their heads and said, "Hoshi first." I sighed and took another step backwards.

"We're getting nowhere this way," I said. They nodded in agreement.

"I know what you mean…" Kaoru said. He handed my unicorn to Hikaru and walked up to me until he was within arm's reach. He reached behind me and got ahold of the dog. I let out a squeal of surprise and tried my hardest to keep it behind my back. He reached his other arm around the other side and there was no way I could win this, but I didn't give up.

It took me a moment to realize that I was trapped between his arms and when I did realize it, he seemed to, too. We stopped struggling for the dog and I stared at him. "You know things can't go back to how they used to be Chise," he said in a low voice.

I nodded. I've known that from the beginning. He leaned in and kissed me. His kiss was much more gentle than Hikaru's had been. I don't know if it was because of the circumstances that they happened under or if it was just because they were two different kisses from two different people.

I pushed him off of me and put Hoshi in front of my face. "I surrender. Hoshi is yours." Hikaru stood next to his brother and handed me Fuji. I hugged my long lost unicorn close to my heart. I looked at the boys in front of me. So different, yet so similar.

"We're going to try and win over your heart Chise," Hikaru stated.

"Whether it's one of us or both. It's going to happen eventually," Kaoru added. I nearly dropped Fuji to the floor as I heard what they just said. There was no way I would be able to get myself out of this one.

Did I want to get out?

* * *

**Howdy! It's spring, why is it so cold? I don't like it!**

**Anyway, how are all of you wonderful people? I've missed you dearly over this past week or so ^^ That was Chapter 12 for your reading enjoyment (Did that even make sense?)**

**Over a hundred review already! Thank you thank you! You all have no idea how happy that made me. I would have like told whoever was 100, but I didn't know and then I didn't feel like looking... Sorry, I am very lazy... So I am thanking everyone who has ever reviewed ever, whether it was once or every chapter. I love hearing from all of you so much :DD**

**So please keep the reviews coming and I will certainly keep the chapters coming either way xD**

**Megan QK (OMG, it's a ninja...!)**


	13. Your Mom's an Idiot

Mom and Mrs. Hitachiin were starting a new swimsuit line and said they need to go somewhere to get the inspiration. That was the reason for my first time out of the country. They wouldn't tell Kaoru, Hikaru, or me where we were going, just that it was somewhere warm and sunny. The entire time on the flight, Hikaru, Kaoru, and I were trying guess where we were going as our mothers simply kept their mouth closed about it.

The plane landed on a place that was surrounded by palm trees and other junk and I don't know what else to put here because I am lacking inspiration and I am tired and my brain broke, plus in all honesty I am kind of sick of looking at this chapter.

* * *

I woke up in my bed huddled under my blanket and snuggled up to someone's side. I assumed it was Izumi and rolled over with a yawn. I opened my eyes to see Haruhi lying there. I was surprised, but I didn't scream like I was about to before it was her. I glanced at my clock and seeing that was after ten, I reached over and gently shook her shoulder. She shifted in her sleep and slowly opened her eyes. I sat up and she mumbled something I didn't catch.

"Oh my goodness, this room is worse than I thought it was…" I said thoughtfully as I looked over the disaster that was once my room. I fell backwards and pulled my blanket back up as I closed my eyes. "Sorry Haruhi, you can go back to sleep." I could feel her looking at me and I slowly opened one of my eyes to look at her.

She looked away and then asked the question I hadn't been awake enough to think of, "Where are the guys and Izumi?" I sat up quickly in my bed and threw off the covers as I ran out of the room, instantly hearing voices as I opened my bedroom door. At the top of the stairs, I had a perfect view of them all in the dining room and I didn't really understand what they were doing. They weren't eating, but it looked –and sounded- like they were arguing about something.

I trudged down the stairs and nearly tripped over the last step because my eyes were slowly slipping closed. When I made it to the door way of the dining room, I shouted, "Will you all shut up! I am trying to sleep!"

I heard Izumi giggle and I glared at her. "Nice hair, Chise." I reached my hand up to feel it.

"Yeah, you know bedhead; it's all the rage in… um… I'll get back to you on that when I'm awake." She put her hands on her hips and looked me up and down. "What are you doing?"

"Wondering why you are awake hours after your guests," she said as if it was the simplest concept in the world. I rolled my eyes at her.

"How ever could I be such a terrible hostess, please forgive me," I said more than just sarcastically. I turned around and began heading back upstairs.

"You better not be going back to sleep!" Izumi called after me.

"I'm going to get dressed and if I happen to fall asleep, so be it!" I called back over my shoulder when I was already half-way up the staircase.

Haruhi had lain back down, but sat up as I opened the door. I smiled. "They're all doing who-knows-what downstairs. I'm going to get dressed." I pointed to a door off to the side of the room, "The bathroom's right there if you want to shower." She nodded and went into the bathroom, taking her bag with her. I went to my closet on the other side of the room (my mom decided that all of us should have two closets, so this one is not the portal to the underworld) and stood in front of my clothes, trying to decide what to wear.

After many minutes of deliberation, I decided upon wearing a dress that had a green and black floral print skirt with a black bust and a green sash just under the black. When I left my closet, Haruhi was still in the shower, but I really needed my hairbrush, so I knocked on the door and opened it slightly. "Don't be alarmed, I'm just getting my hairbrush and brushing my teeth."

"That's fine. I'm not quite done yet anyway," she answered. I pushed the door open further and shut it once I got in. From under the sink, I grabbed my brush and ran it through the tangles of my hair before put it in to a braid that fell over my left shoulder. Then I quickly brushed my teeth, suddenly realizing that I didn't have extra towels for Haruhi. I finished and then told her I would go get her some.

After I left the towels in the bathroom, I went to get dressed. I pulled off my pajamas and put on a pair of black leggings before pulling my dress on. I went to try and zip it up and tie the sash part, but I was having trouble with it because of my arm. I held the front of it close to my chest as I left my room and went downstairs once again.

The scents of different breakfast foods wafted through the air and my stomach growled. Everyone was still in the dining room, but now they were quieter. I felt almost awkward when I entered the room with my dress half undone and practically falling off. I smiled to the members of the Host Club and slowly made my way to Izumi.

"Why are you holding your chest like that?" She asked before I got anywhere near her. I tried to tell her to shut up without actually saying anything. "Also, since when do you wear dresses?"

"Well, I kinda need your help with something and since forever. I don't live in shorts and tank tops." Before I made it to Izumi, I had to walk past Hikaru and Kaoru and of course they knew why I was holding my dress weird. They had been around fashion long enough to know what it looks like when a dress needed to be fastened.

They stood up and were suddenly very close to me. Kaoru stood in front of me and Hikaru behind. "We can get that for you," Hikaru said into my ear as he zipped up the back. I was turned around gently by Kaoru who then tied the sash for me.

"Thanks," I said as I tucked a stray hair behind my ear. "Um, Haruhi's still in the shower, so we just have to wait for him to finish." Izumi stood up from her chair and took the few steps until she was in front of me.

"You mean you were up there while Haruhi was showering?" She asked in disbelief. I placed my arm around her shoulders.

"Oh Izumi, dear sweet Izumi, you sound delirious. I think you need to sit down and drink something. I would never be in the same room –no, not even the same level of the house- as a man taking a shower. What kind of a girl do you think I am?" I guided her back to her chair and held it out for her until she sat down.

"Honestly, I think you're the kind of girl that was probably in there brushing her teeth while he was in the shower…" She mumbled as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"And that would be correct!" I said. Her eyes widened and I slipped into the kitchen before she could say anything more. "Everything smells delicious," I said to the cook, Kouta.

He laughed and told me that it would all be done soon. I nodded and returned to the dining room. Takai and Haruhi had both joined the group and to be honest, it was nice seeing everyone there. I sat down in the seat between Takai and Kaoru. Takai placed something on the table in front of me and I still wasn't quite awake enough to register what it was. "A rectangular object?"

"I don't know why, but your phone was in my room this morning and it woke me up," he explained. I picked up the phone from the table and examined it. "Why exactly was it in there?"

"Um, he got lonely last night and wanted some company?" I asked with a shrug. "And for some reason he chose you over me."

"On what planet does that make sense?" He asked.

"Pluto," I answered right away. He snorted a laugh.

"Pluto's not a planet."

"You're not a planet."

He gave me a blank stare. "You're an idiot."

"Your mom's an idiot." That made him and Izumi laugh almost to the point of tears.

"You realize she's your mom, too," he pointed out. I closed my eyes and put my head down on the table. Takai patted my back. "It's okay Chi, we've all been there at some point."

"I'm tired and I blame Kaoru," I said as I poked his arm. I turned my head so I was looking at him and smiled. I was about to say something else, but Kouta came out of the kitchen carrying the food announcing that it was ready.

"Did you make waffles?" Takai and I asked excitedly. "You make the best waffles ever, Kouta." Kouta laughed and placed a huge plate covered in waffles right in front of us. I swear I could literally see drool dripping out of Takai's mouth.

Just as Kouta was about to go back into the kitchen, he turned his head to look at me. "Airi told me to remind you about your appointment this afternoon." He went through the door and disappeared into the kitchen. The syrup I had been pouring over my waffles was now drowning them. Takai placed his hand over mine to make me stop.

"I'll go with you," Takai offered. I smiled and hugged him. "Am I still a terrible brother?"

I shook my head. "No! You're the best little brother in the entire world! I'm sorry I tried to trade you in for a puppy when we were kids!"

"You tried to trade your brother in for a puppy?" Haruhi asked.

I laughed and nodded. I tilted my head to look at her, but I was still holding on to Takai. "Yeah, it was a cute puppy though."

Takai flicked the side of my head. "Are you saying I'm not cute?"

I pinched his cheek. "I would never say that! You're the cutest! Just, I used to want a puppy more…" He pulled away from me so I no longer had ahold of his face. He rubbed his cheek before grabbing on to mine in the same way.

"You know, it's not very polite to grab people's cheeks," he said.

I smirked at him as best I could with the hold he had on my cheek. "Airi!" I shouted. "Takai's being mean to me!"

"Now who's five?" he asked as he released my face. I smiled at him and cut up my waffle, placing a piece of it in my mouth.

"Still you. She's not even here; she went to her daughter's wedding today." I took another bite and then felt him flick my head again. "Hey!"

"Aren't you supposed to be more mature than that? I swear it's like you're the younger sibling."

I scoffed at him. "Why don't you go eat in your room or something?" I said, slightly annoyed. I glanced over at him and he was smirking as he chewed his food.

"You know Mom doesn't like it when we eat in our rooms. Which means, she's going to kill you when she and Dad get home next week."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "What'll it take you to keep your mouth shut?"

He smiled. "Are you trying to bribe me? Oh silly Chise, that won't work." I sat back in my chair and crossed my arms over my chest as I thought of something he would want.

"Oh no, not a bribe, bribes are frowned upon. Think of it as a…" I paused while I thought of how to reword the word bribe, "favor for a favor."

He side glanced at me, "You sound like a buisnessman when you say it like that."

I laughed. "Well, Dad has taught me a thing or two about talking my way around and out of things."

**(^.^)(^.^)|(^.^)(^.^)|(^.^)(^.^)|(^.^)(^.^)|(^.^)(^.^)**

_Hikaru _

Takai stared at his sister for a long time, seemingly contemplating what he would want from her. She however, didn't pay attention to him. She was too busy eating her breakfast. I remember never being able to say anything important to her when there was food around because she would be too focused on the food. "Hand me the syrup," Takai said to his sister.

She glanced at him and laughed. "It's right in front of you, get it yourself." He crossed his arms and merely cleared his throat. She put her fork down. "Seriously, you won't tell Mom as long as I pass you the syrup?" She reached for the syrup, but before she wrapped her hand around it, Takai said something else.

"Oh, it would have to be much more than the syrup. You have to do everything I say for a week." She moved her hand away from the bottle and hit her brother's arm. "And that is not something I told you to do."

Chise scoffed. "I would rather have Mom mad at me for three hours than have to be your slave for a week. I see no logical reason as to why you thought that would work."

It was amazing listening to her talk sometimes. She really had a gift for picking out words and hidden meanings. She always has. "I guess I could just call Mom now and fill her in on the other situation you haven't told her about."

Chise gave him a blank look. "What the hell are you talking about?" He smirked and stood up from his chair. "Takai Mazawa!"

He turned around slightly, just enough to glance at her. "Did you just go full name on me? Who are you, Mom?" She narrowed her eyes at him and slowly stood up from her chair. He started to walk away, but she grabbed his arm and practically wrestled him to the floor. "I thought you couldn't so anything strenuous?" He asked as she pushed his face to the floor.

"This is the least strenuous thing I have done in weeks. Now, what were you talking about?" She asked calmly, as if there was nothing strange about her sitting on her brother's back while pinning him to the ground.

"Get off of me!" He practically shouted. "You're not exactly the lightest thing in the world."

Chise laughed. "Well duh. If I was, this would be pointless. Seriously, the sooner you answer me, the sooner you can get off the floor."

Takai made a grunting sound as he shifted, pulling something out of his pocket. "Or, I could just call her right now." He held a cell phone in his hand. Chise smiled and grabbed his arm, pulling it behind his back and grabbing the phone. "When did you get stronger than me?"

"I didn't, I'm just determined. You'd be surprised what a little determination can do for you," she said and pulled his arm tighter. He smirked and said something I couldn't hear. Chise laughed. "That's what you think she'd be mad about?" She let go of his arm, but continued sitting on him. "You really don't know her then."

"Okay, I told you, now get off of me!" She scoffed and merely shifted in a way that made it look like she was making herself more comfortable. "Chise!"

"What's the magic word? And it's not please, just so we're clear."

"Good, I wouldn't have said it anyway."

Chise rolled her eyes. "You're not really helping yourself." Takai smirked again and rolled over so she was on the floor and he was sitting on her.

"You were right about that determination thing," he said. She struggled to get out from under him. "So, tell me, what's the magic word? Oh, and it's not please."

She pouted and it looked as if she was crying. "Kai, you're hurting me." She turned her head to the side and I saw a tear run down and drip off of her nose. Takai stood up then and held his hand out for her, she took it and he pulled her up. Her tears were instantly gone and she was smiling. "I can't believe you still fall for that," she said with a giggle as she returned to her chair.

Tono was practically giving her a standong ovation. "If I didn't know any better, I'd swear you were a Host yourself!" Chise was about to put a forkful of waffles in her mouth, but stopped at looked at him.

"Why do you say that?" she asked curiously.

"Only a true host can cry on command and cause those emotions to be felt by others!"

"I've just always done that, fake tears are the easiest way to pull on the heartstrings after all," she said with a smile.

After breakfast, we didn't really do anything since Chise didn't want to start something and then have to leave for her doctor's appointment. It was interesting how much she had changed and yet still stayed the same. We were all in her room, doing various things as she sat at her desk typing something into her laptop from a notebook that sat open next to her. Kaoru and I walked over to her and looked over her shoulder. "What're you doing?" We asked.

"Typing," she said simply. I looked at Kaoru and we both rolled our eyes. That was such a Chise answer. After a moment longer of her just typing, she turned in her chair and smiled. "Wanna help? It's kind of hard with only one good arm." We nodded. She stood up from her chair, so one of us could sit down. "One of you can type while I read it to you?" She suggested.

I looked to Kaoru; he was the better typer between us. He nodded at me and then sat down in Chise's recently vacated chair. She picked up the notebook and before she read the first word, Kaoru pulled her onto his lap. She looked a little flustered and her cheeks turned bright red, but she acted as if nothing about it was weird for her. She continued reading off of the notebook and Kaoru typed. I was kind of confused as to why she was having him type stuff about history.

"Why do you type your history notes?" I asked curiously. She finished reading off a line and then looked at me.

"I'm trying to find ways to get myself to remember this stuff. I've tried just about everything else, thought I'd try it this way."

"Oh dear sister, guess what time it is!" Takai called to Chise. She turned the chair around while still on Kaoru's lap and looked at her wrist.

"Time for me to get a watch?" Takai rolled his eyes at her attempt to make a joke. "I don't wanna go!" She said and tried to hide in Kaoru's chest.

"Maybe the doctor will tell you that you can run again," he said in a sing song voice. She didn't move and Takai walked over to her. "I'll carry you out of here if I have to."

She jumped off of my brother's lap and headed toward her bathroom. "Now what are you doing?"

"You didn't have Mom drilling her most important philosophy into you all your life, so you wouldn't understand. That and you're a boy, you wouldn't understand anyway." Takai pretended to freak out.

"I'm a boy!" He shouted in fake shock. Chise came out of the bathroom with a newly applied line of black eyeliner. "You needed to put on make-up?"

""Midori Mazawa's number one philosophy: Applying a little eyeliner before going out never hurts; in fact it usually helps you meet men. That's how I got your father." That is what she has been telling me since the day I was able to walk," Chise explained. Takai rolled his eyes at his sister and she lightly hit his arm.

"Are you ready to go?" She shook her head and he placed an arm over her shoulder. "I'll do all the talking for you Chi." She gave him a smile and hugged him.

"I'm sorry that I pinned you to the floor…" She mumbled to him. Then she looked around the room at everyone that was there. "Please, please, please; don't break anything." Then they walked out of the door and were on their way to her appointment.

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**FINALLY DONE! So, here it is and I'm going to go take a nap.**


	14. No Time For Me

"Hikaru?" I called down the hall of the Hitachiins' large mansion. "Kaoru?" I hadn't seen them since I had gotten here, but the maids all said that they were around here somewhere. If I hadn't walked these halls so many times, I would have been scared that I was alone, but I was more worried that something had happened to my best friends.

I heard their voices coming from a room at the end of the hall. It had been so long since I saw the outside of school. They kept telling me that there was something they had to do, but they wouldn't tell me what it was. I gently pushed open the door and saw them sitting in their mom's sewing room hovering over a sketchbook.

The door made a loud creaking sound and they looked up. Both of them look surprised to see me here and yet at the same time they didn't. We just stayed like that, staring at each other, not saying anything. I felt tears sting my eyes and my chin fell to my chest. "You guys couldn't tell me about this?" I was hurt. I didn't understand why they were hiding designing from me.

"Chise, what are you doing here?" Hikaru asked.

"We were trying to surprise you, but since you're here…" Kaoru said and motioned for me to actually enter the room. I did, but slowly. I stood between them and they placed their arms over my shoulders as they presented the design to me. It was a beautiful baby blue sun dress. I had said that if I had my mom's talent for designing, I would design it for myself. I guess they had decided to take the initiative and do it for me.

I hugged the both. "I thought you guys didn't have time for me anymore!" I said feeling stupid for having even thought that.

"Of course not. We'll always make time for you, Chise," they said. "We promise."

* * *

The appointment with the doctor had taken a lot longer that either I or Takai had expected and it was dark by the time we got back home. We stepped out of the limo and simply stared up at the window we knew was attached to my bedroom. Takai gently bumped my shoulder with his arm, "How much you wanna bet that it's completely destroyed?" I sighed and took a step toward the house just as the front door opened up to reveal Airi with a beyond disappointed look. It was impossible to stand up tall when you were faced with that look.

"Hey, Airi. How was the wedding?" I asked as I held my hands (and my newly de-greenified arm) behind my back and smiled at her sweetly.

"It was lovely, thank you for asking. But what I would like to know from you, is why there is a group of boys and Miss Izumi in your room?" She crossed her arms and tapped her foot lightly against the ground.

I looked up at Takai and all he offered to me for support was a measly shrug. Once again, I faced Airi. "Can I explain inside?" I asked her.

She took a step aside and I grabbed Takai's hand as I pulled him into the house with me. I heard the front door close behind us and without another word; Takai was on his way up the stairs. I was tempted to shout something after him, but I thought against it once I heard Airi's voice. "Ready to explain yet?"

I sighed and nodded. "Well I had to go to my appointment and Izumi is staying the weekend and so is the group of boys, but don't worry, nothing's going to happen, I promise and anyway, when it was time for the appointment, there was no way that I was going to take all of them with me."

Airi simply looked at me for a moment before speaking. "That makes a lot more sense. I actually thought that you didn't know they were here." I laughed and hugged her. She hugged me back and then gently pushed me toward the stairs. "And the black looks much better than the green did."

"That's what I said too!" I said over my shoulder as I went up the steps. I opened up my bedroom door and saw everyone sitting in front of my tv. "Did my dear brother come in here?"

Everyone shook their heads. "No, why?" Izumi asked. I walked into the room and shut the door.

"Kai, I can't believe you left me when we thought I was in trouble!" I shouted as I turned around seeing my brother standing in the spot right next to the door. "That was low, Bro."

He took a step away from the wall and closer to me. "Calm down. I was going to go back, but then I saw that you guys were hugging, so I thought it was alright." I pointed toward the door. "Chi, come on, you're not really mad are you?"

"Out."

"Chise."

"I believe I've already pointed and given the command, so go." He rolled his eyes at me and turned to leave the room. He was half way through the door when I said, "Awh, Kai, you'd make a perfect dog~!" Then I closed the door behind him and leaned against it.

I realized that there were eight sets of eyes on me. I blew a stray piece of hair out of my face and smiled at them. "What chya watchin'?" I asked.

"An insane girl treating her brother like a dog?" Izumi guessed. I pushed against the door and scoffed as I walked past her and sat on the floor in front of the couch they were all sitting on.

"How'd the appointment go, Chi-chan?" Honey asked from behind me. I turned to face him and couldn't help the smile that I felt.

"Great! I can start running again by the end of next week. I'm so excited about that!" Honey gave me a smile, but he looked sad too.

I turned around fully and sat up on my knees. "What's wrong Honey-senpai?"

He clutched his pink rabbit to his chest as he said, "You won't have time for us anymore…" Tears glistened in his large brown eyes and before I knew what I was doing, I hugged him.

"Of course I will! I can see you before practice and…and other times too. I promise!" He put his arms around my neck and hugged me in return.

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**I am so sorry about the super long wait that you all had to endure! I apologize from the bottom of my heart, I really do. I was having a little writer's block, but I think that I'll be able to update sooner now since I know pretty much kinda what I'm going to do for the next few chapters. Well, I shall stop here and leave you to your reviewing or exiting out of the story and finding another one thing xD**

**I loves you all~!**

**Megan :D**


	15. From Shortfuse to First Date

I was sitting in my backyard by the pool reading a book that had been assigned for school. Really it was supposed to be finished by then, but I was a procrastinator. I had blocked out everything around me, so when Hikaru and Kaoru had shown up and sat down on either side of me, I hadn't noticed. "Chise, you should stop reading and we should go do something fun," Hikaru had said. I had merely shook my head no and had hoped that they would take the hint and either leave or just sit there quietly.

"Are you mad at us, Chise?" Kaoru asked. I shook my head once again. After a few more minutes of them pestering, I slammed the book shut and stood up so I could see both of them.

"I am trying to read for school. Please leave me alone for a few hours so I can finish!" I had shouted at them and I had felt horrible about it, but it got them to go off and find my brother so they wouldn't be so bored. It was the first time I had yelled at them, but when I went inside to find them, neither Kaoru nor Hikaru seemed to be upset with me.

* * *

In the next few weeks of being 'friends' with Hikaru and Kaoru again, I didn't really know how to completely handle it. They were always there trying to help me out and as much as I appreciated it, I knew that they were just trying to make get me to love one of them. So many times I had wanted to just tell them that doing everything from carrying my books to offering to do my history homework for me wasn't going to make me instantly fall (more) for them. It had to stop, really. Everyone was talking about how I had two hosts willing to do so much for me and if I didn't know them better, I'd swear it was all just to bring in more guests for their club.

That's why after school when they were trying to get me to hand over my bag to one of them, I snapped the minute we were standing in the third music room. "Stop it! Do you two realize how annoying you have been? Fussing over me will do nothing except make me want to smack you both with my history book!" As soon as I had gotten that out, I felt much better, but the looks on their faces made me cover my mouth with my good hand. "I am so sorry," I said with as much sincerity as I could muster.

Kaoru pulled me into a hug and kissed my cheek gently. "You're right. You don't have to apologize." I didn't really know what to do or say in that moment. All I could do was just stand there with my hand frozen over my mouth as my pulse quickened. It had been so long since he had actually hugged me and held me so close.

"K-Kaoru…" I didn't know what else to say, but I did drop my hand from my mouth. And luckily, I was saved from having to say anything by the sound of the host club doors opening along with Izumi's voice.

"Chise! Chise! Guess what!" She pulled me out of Kaoru's hold and placed her hands on my shoulders as she looked at me intently. Without even waiting for me to respond with a guess, she continued on. "Coach wants to see you."

I raised my eyebrows at her. "Why would coach want to see me?" Izumi shrugged and then took my good arm and started pulling me toward the door. "Izumi, let go of me, please," I said calmly and she did. But not without giving me a confused look first.

"I thought you wanted to run again?"

I nodded. "I do, but I still have one week left. Seeing her will only make me even more impatient."

Arms went around my waist and lips were at my ear. "You should go, Chise. You know that going will make you feel a little better." I closed my eyes at the sound of Hikaru's voice so close. Where was he telling me to go?

My head nodded without me knowing what it was agreeing to and Izumi took my good arm as she pulled me out of the room and down to the track. Almost as soon as I was out of that room, I realized what I had agreed to. "Why does coach want to see me?" I asked Izumi. She stopped walking and looked back at me.

"She doesn't." There was a small smile tugging at her lips and I felt a little scared as to why she decided to kidnap me. Not that I was going to complain about it, but she did this once before and I ended up in the middle of New York City not knowing more than three phrases of English and none of them being the least bit helpful in that situation. "I'm here to make you pretty!"

I felt my eyebrow lift in confusion. "Are you saying I'm ugly?"

"For right now, no. For a date, yes." She started to pull me again, but I refused to move my feet. "Come on Chise," Izumi whined. "I want to make you look like a runway model!"

The expression on my face didn't change. "You are _not_ putting that much make-up on my face, dude." She rolled her eyes and scoffed slightly without saying anything. "And I don't have a date." Izumi's hands went to her hips and her smile appeared fully.

"You do now!"

In a matter of an hour my closet had been raided only to have Mom come in with a new dress she said that she designed and wanted me to try out. It couldn't have been at a more convenient timing either. I had a feeling that they were conspirators in all of this.

Izumi made me sit on the edge of my bed while she sat in my desk chair in front of me as she did my make-up. Mom hung up the dress on the back of my door and sat down next to me. "So what are you getting all dolled up for? Hot date?" In the mirror that was across from us on the wall, I saw her wink at either Izumi or myself.

Izumi nodded. "Yes, in fact this is for a _very_ hot date."

"But she won't tell me who it's with!" I complained, crossing my arms over my chest. Both women slapped me gently on either shoulder.

"Stop moving or you'll mess up your face," they said together. Yup, Mother dear was definitely in on this.

Mom moved so she was lying on her stomach and propped her head up on her hands. "Well, whoever he is, I'm sure he'll be drooling over how gorgeous my daughter is." The doorbell rang and Airi came up not long after saying that one of Mrs. Hitachiin's boys was here. I stood up quickly and nearly knocked Izumi to the floor, I did feel the lipstick she had been putting on me smear down my chin, though.

"You ruined my masterpiece!" I looked down at her with a small smile as I instantly thought of the perfect thing to say to that. "And no, I will not consider it to be abstract. I want realism!" She pulled me back down so I was sitting and began wiping off the line of lipstick from my chin. Mom got up and I knew she was going down to talk to whichever twin it was that I had a date with.

I refused to say anything as Izumi finished and as I glared at her in the mirror. "You know you're not mad, Chise." I crossed my arms and made a "hmph" sound. She finished up and then left me to put on my dress that Mom had brought in.

I took the dress into my closet so I could put it on. It was white with a small red floral pattern, the waist was corseted and it was strapless. And it also had a zipper. I popped my head through the closet door to see if anyone was in the room at all, they weren't. I put on a red heart-shaped necklace and a black rose cuff along with a silver rose ring on my left index finger before walking out of my room as casually as I could with my dress falling off of my body.

Halfway down the stairs, I could hear Mom and Izumi talking to someone. I couldn't hear his voice, but I knew it was one of the twins. "I didn't even know you three were talking again, when did this happen?" I heard Mom ask. He obviously answered because she said, "Oh, I wish she had told me!"

"Mama!" I called. She either didn't hear me or she was ignoring me. I called again with the same response. "I could be dying right now and you wouldn't know 'cause you're ignoring me!"

"If you can get all that out with that volume, you must not be too close to death," Takai said as he came down the stairs and passed me.

"Why don't you just come in here instead of standing on the stairs with your dress hanging off of you?" I was not going to forgive my mother for this for a while. Sure I've walked in front of the Hitachiins with dresses unzipped, but never before a date! It's just not the same, plus then it ruins the surprise of what I look like. Obviously it was planned that I would have to go down in this state; I don't know why it didn't occur to me sooner. With a huff, I walked down the rest of the steps and into the front room.

I tried not to look at the red-headed boy on the couch because I wanted to be surprised as to whom it was, but my curiosity got the better of me. "Kaoru… You couldn't have mentioned something about this when I saw you today?"

He gave me a smile of innocence. "You were mad earlier and then Izumi came before I could say anything." Mom zipped up my dress and lightly smacked my butt.

"Cute as a button, don't you agree, Kaoru?" She said as she looked said boy.

"Mom!" I practically whined as I looked at her.

I felt a warm hand go around my good hand and I turned to see Kaoru. "I think you look beautiful. Even without all the extra make-up." My cheeks heated up and I could see Izumi smiling at me from the corner of my eye.

"I just have to get my shoes… then we can go," I said as I went back to my room to grab a pair of red flats and slipped them on as I went back down.

All three of them and Takai were waiting for me by the door. "Don't be out too late, it is a school night."

Kaoru took my hand and smiled at Mom. "I'll have her back by ten, Mrs. Mazawa."

Mom pulled me into a quick hug. "I can't believe my baby's finally going on her first date!" That was when I couldn't handle anymore. I broke out of her grasp and nearly pulled Kaoru out of the house. He laughed lightly when we stopped outside of his limo and the driver opened the door for us.

"Are you ready?" He asked. I nodded and we were on our way.

* * *

**It's finally done! I am so sorry for the ridiculously long wait, I was having some writer's block for this chapter. As much as I would love to say that the next chapter will be out soon, I will simply say that it will be out eventually whether it's one day, one week, one month, or more, I promise that I have NOT given up on this story!**

**I hope everyone (in America) had a nice Thanksgiving and that everyone everywhere else had a nice weekend~ You're all fantastic and beautiful people :D**

**Peace, Love, and Unicorns,**  
**Megan :) **


	16. Clichéd Happenings

We sat in the back of the limo and for what felt like a lifetime, we were silent. I'm not sure why he was, but I know I was because I was ridiculously nervous. I have never been on a date before and I had really no time to mentally prepare myself for this one. I crossed my legs and a silent sigh let my lips. My head turned to look at Kaoru the moment he turned to look at me. We both laughed and it seemed as though the tension and nervousness that was once in the air, completely disappeared.

Though I know that at least the nervousness didn't leave, not for me anyway. "Are you really okay with this?" he asked. I adjusted myself so my body was facing him instead of straight on. For a moment I thought about what he would say if I told him that I wasn't okay with a date and that I wanted to go home.

"I _am_ okay with it." He seemed to be a bit skeptical about this, so I added, "If I wasn't, do you really think I'd let Mom and Izumi do this to me?"

Kaoru laughed lightly. "No, you wouldn't have, but I was serious before, you really do look beautiful." I felt a smile place itself on my lips and my eyes went to examine the floor in an instant. I have heard it a million times from a lot of people and from him, but this was different. This wasn't just a time when we're hanging out just to talk about how awful something at school was or how much we want to be able to reach the clouds while lying in the grass. This was something that could easily lead to something much more than friendship. The very thing I've wanted since I was younger.

I still have that same problem as before, I love them both. But that's not fair to them and I know it. "Kaoru…" I started, but I didn't know how to finish that with what was in my thoughts, so I changed what I was going to say. "You look really handsome as well." And he really did. He was dressed in light gray slacks with a white collared shirt under a darker gray sweater and a black blazer over that. His hair was still tousled and wild though and I was glad about that.

Nothing that was said between that and the time the limo finally stopped was about anything that was very important and most of the time, we just sat there in each other's company. It was nice being able to do that, not having to worry about filling the silence if we didn't want to. "You don't get seasick, do you?" Kaoru asked after he had gotten out and offered his hand to me.

I raised an eyebrow at him as I took his hand and stepped out. "No, but why wou-" my words were cut off as I saw one of his family's yachts. Sure I've been on one before, my family has one that we use every summer, but I expected something smaller for a first date. Yeah, my nervousness was definitely still there. Kaoru kept my hand in his as we walked up the large boat.

Silence feel between us once again as we walked through the yacht to wherever it was that Kaoru was taking me as he lead me around. We stopped when we got to the main deck. There were string lights hanging from seemingly everywhere. It was like we weren't even part of the real world anymore. And in the middle of it all was a small table with two chairs with a small vase that contained a single calla lily, my favorite. "I think you watched a few too many chick-flicks before putting this together," I teased.

"Actually, it was mostly Izumi's idea," he said with a smile. That made complete sense then. She lived for cliché romance. Usually it bothered me, but right now, I was glad for it. This time instead of him leading me, I took ahold of his hand and led him to the table. As I went to smell the flower, he got close to my ear. "The flower was my idea though."

I turned my head slightly, our faces were really close. "You remembered my favorite flower after all those years?" As soon as the words were out, I wished I could pull them back in, they sounded awful and like it had been decades since we last spoke. I very nearly face-palmed at my own stupidity.

"Yes, I did. How could I forget? You would make Hikaru and I search for them with you," he said before pulling my chair out for me to sit down on. I did and scooted in a bit as he took his seat across from me.

"I only made you because otherwise neither of you would have known what to do!" I said with a laugh as I remembered them trying to keep up with me. "So what's for food?"

He smiled and then looked over toward a door just as a pink haired girl came out and placed plates of food in front of us. "Your dinner shall start with this Caesar salad. Once you are both done, I'll be out with your entrées." With that, the girl walked back through the door she had originally come through. It felt as though I had seen her before, but I didn't think much of it as I took a bite of my salad.

"How is it?" Kaoru asked. I looked up at him with a curious expression.

"It's kind of hard to mess up salad, so it's good," I replied after a moment of thought. I wondered if he was as nervous as I was, but before I could ask he spoke.

"So this is really your first date?" Kaoru asked, but it didn't sound like he believed it. It was true though, I've never been on one.

I nodded. "Yup, but you don't seem to find that believable. Why?" He looked down at his plate that was half visible now. I was going to tell him that he didn't have to answer that, but I was way too interested. I told him before that I wouldn't just date any guy that came around asking. Not that there were many that ever did come up and ask either.

"Who wouldn't want to date you?" he finally asked. It made me laugh because it was almost as if he could hear my thoughts. I looked at him and smiled.

"Apparently not as many as you would think." Not that I'd want to date them either. The only people I would even consider dating would be Kaoru or Hikaru. They've had my heart for as long as I can remember and they knew it… I think. "But that's just fine with me."

We talked a bit more as the waitress came out to take our plates and replace them with ones that were nearly overflowing with spaghetti. "It's a good thing Takai isn't here or it might be flying everywhere," Kaoru said as he spun the noodles onto his fork.

"Oh gosh, I can't believe you remember that, it was so funny though! Until I had to correct your mom…" I dropped my fork and covered my mouth with my hands. "I didn't mean to bring that up, I'm so sorry."

He had stopped moving for a mere second before he looked up at me with the sweetest of smiles. "You know, before you came out of your room and said otherwise, your mom and Izumi thought I was Hikaru." The fork I had just picked back up fell once again. I really hope these are durable plates.

"But you look, talk, and act nothing like Hikaru!" I shouted. I would have thought that Mom would be able to tell them apart by now, I mean, she's known them longer than I have. There will definitely be words when I get home. He reached across the table and put his hand as much over mine as he could. Knew that the not knowing who he was hurt him, but he was trying to look strong… for me. I put my hand closer to his and then turned it over so my palm was on top of his. "I know it hurts you when people can't tell you and Hikaru apart. You don't have to pretend like it doesn't."

Kaoru gave me a small smile. "If it didn't, I wouldn't have brought it up." I gave his hand a gentle squeeze. More silence came as we finished our salads and though neither of us said anything, I felt as though a million things were going unspoken.

A loud crash came from where I assumed the kitchen was and the blond waitress came out and with a bow of her head, said, "I hate to inform you that… The chef has kind of dropped your main course on the floor and has to start over." Kaoru let out a sigh, but he didn't say anything as she slinked back into the kitchen.

"I'm guessing that wasn't supposed to happen," I said with a small laugh. He shook his head and stood up from the table and walked around until he was standing in front of me.

Kaoru held his hand out to me. "Would you like to dance?"

That question surprised me a bit. Not because we were on his yacht and our dinners were dropped on the floor or even that there was no music. It was more of the fact that he would always hate when I would ask him to dance. I would always have to dance with Hikaru when there was a party or if I was bored and there was nothing else to do. I nodded gently and took his hand. And it was as if that was all that was needed for the music to turn on.

One of my favorite songs began playing and Kaoru pulled me closer, I placed my head on his shoulder. "Izumi helped you out a _lot_, didn't she?" I asked him quietly.

"Yeah, but only because I was sure you had changed over the past few years. I doubted that your favorite song was still "Part of Your World" from the Little Mermaid." We rocked back and forth and in little circles. Neither of us really knew how to dance.

I laughed, "I still listen to it on occasion. Like when Mom's stressing about something and in turn making me stress."

"I can't imagine Midori Mazawa stressing about anything." His arms tightened around me slightly and I realized that my fingers were messing with the little bit of hair that was just above the back of his neck.

"She stresses out most when her designs need to be done, so she asks me to help her and I know nothing about fashion or sewing or sketching or anything which makes her stress out even more because she has to make your mom think that she can get things done without having someone breathing down her neck. Though I don't know why, Yuzuha has to know better than anyone about how bad she can be."

We talked and danced for a while until the waitress came back out announcing that our meals had been saved and were "now ready for human consumption." There was more idle talking and memories brought up. "This pasta reminds me of when Takai was little and he was throwing it at you and Hikaru all through dinner," I said as I spun the long noodles around on my fork.

Kaoru laughed. "Yeah, I remember that!" He looked down at his plate, but a small smile remained on his face. "You know, Hikaru has no idea that I'm here right now."

I raised an eyebrow, "Where does he think you are?" He didn't answer at first and our empty plates were taken away. The pink-haired waitress said something about dessert being right out, but that didn't matter. Kaoru lied to his brother about our date and I didn't know why. Hikaru knows that he likes me and Kaoru knows that Hikaru likes me, so shouldn't it not matter?

"He thinks that I'm with Mom at your house helping them go over designs…" he trailed off as if there was more to that story. I stood up from the table and my chair made an awful scratching sound against the wood of the deck.

"Kaoru, I don't want to come between you and your brother. If you can't even tell him the truth, why would you tell me the truth about anything?" I turned to try and walk away and off of the yacht, then I realized we were moving. I stopped and crossed my right arm over my chest, holding onto my other arm. "And I'm ready to go home now."

I heard Kaoru stand up and felt him place his hand on my shoulder. As much as I wanted to say that I was mad at him, I couldn't. I was disappointed, but I don't think I could ever truly be mad at either of the Hitachiins. "Chise… I would never lie to you. I would have told him, but you know how Hikaru can get." And I do know how Hikaru can get. There are times when it's not pretty.

My feet led me to the railing that blocked the deck from the water below. A breeze blew and brought with it the chill of the water, I rubbed my arm gently. A jacket went over my shoulders and I looked over my shoulder just as Kaoru wrapped his arms around my waist and placed his chin on my shoulder. My nose rammed right into his cheek. Instead of saying anything, we both laughed and I kissed his cheek softly. "Remember when you used to do that all the time?"

Before I could answer, there was a jerk in the sailing of the boat and I crouched down, Kaoru's arms left my waist and a sound that was a very distinct splash sounded. The waitress came out apologizing for that even though there was nothing she could have done about it. I stood up and heard what sounded to be someone calling my name. My eyes scanned every surface for the red head. That was when I remembered the splash. I stood up and leaned over the railing to get a better look. He was down there and he was calling my name.

I kicked my shoes off and dropped his blazer to the deck before I jumped after him. There was no plan in my mind when I did this, but it was too late after I was already in the air. My body broke the surface of the water and it was much colder than I was expecting. He grabbed a hold of me and pulled me back to the surface. "Why did you do that?" he asked more curious than anything.

I shrugged as best I could while treading water. "Well, you got to do it." He laughed and shook his head slightly.

"Are you two okay?" the waitress called to us. We looked up and replied with a yeah.

Once back on the deck, Kaoru led me through corridors much as he had at the beginning of the date. We entered a large bathroom area and he found a few towels. "We have to dry you off…" As soon as the words were out in the air, he began taking bobby pins out of my hair and toweling it off.

"You don't have to do that, you know. I'll be fine." He didn't say anything though and just continued on. He wrapped another around my shoulders and told me to hold it there. I did.

Our little dip resulted in us having to take a small trip to the hospital to get my wet cast replaced with a new dry one. I sat on the examining table and Kaoru was leaning against the wall holding the blazer that he insisted I wear until I get home. The doctor was off either getting or examining my new x-rays and we were just left to sit in the too bright room. "Can you believe that actually happened?" I asked as I looked at him with a smile.

"Just a night full of clichés, I guess." He didn't seem to find it nearly as funny and entertaining that I did. I reached over and put my hand on his forearm. "What if you get sick?"

"Well then it's a good thing we're in a hospital," I tried to joke. He didn't seem to appreciate it and I couldn't blame him, it was a bad thing to joke about. "What if you get sick?" Kaoru shrugged as though it didn't matter. "If you get sick, I'll bring you soup. I'll even make it myself!" I announced.

That made him smile. "Are you trying to kill me?"

The doctor walked back in then and he brought very good news along with him. No more cast! My arm healed faster than expected.

Though when I showed up at home closer to eleven than ten, Mom wasn't too happy. "He said he'd have you home by ten and why are you damp?" I smiled and bit my bottom lip slightly. That reaction had nothing to do with what she was asking about, but it had everything to do with the kiss that Kaoru gave me in front of the door. So soft and sweet and it was like or lips fit perfectly. "And where is your cast?"

"Don't worry Mama. It's all good. I'm going to go to bed. Nighties!" She probably thought I was high, but it didn't matter. This was an amazing night and there's no way I'll ever forget it. Though that could also have something to do with me being able to run again on Monday!

I made it up to my room and closed the door before taking a quick shower to warm myself up and then put on an old pair of flannel pajamas that had a purple plaid pattern. Before hopping into bed, I hung up the blazer on the back of my desk chair. I placed my fingers lightly on my lips as I sat on my bed and settled in for the night.

* * *

**WOO! It took less than a month for me to get this written. I am proud of myself~ At least I _think_ it was less than a month... My math may be bad. I had parts written for the longest time, but I hate having to type what I wrote on a piece of paper. It's so boring and tedious. **

**Anyway, I really hope you all like it and I'll try to get a new chapter up as soon as possible. Again, I make no promises as to when that'll be. Except I doubt it'll be within the next two weeks since I have finals at the end of next week and then my senior year is officially half over! YAY!**

**I love you guys~  
Megan :) **


	17. Let Down

Nothing feels better than the wind whipping through my hair; the beating of my heart as I pushed myself around the track, faster and faster; the feeling of accomplishment when I learn that I'm still one of the fastest on the team. Coach Hayata and the girls greeted me back almost as if I had only been gone over the weekend. That was the best thing about them: they didn't make a big deal out of anything and that was exactly what I needed. Coach blew the infamous end of practice whistle. It was the time when we found out if it was to the showers or another dozen laps.

"Girls, hit the showers," the young brunette coach said. No one moved though. She had never said those words before at least three extra laps. "Don't look at me like that. You're making it seem like I just asked you to strip down to your knickers and dance the hula."

We looked at each other and then all cracked a smile. "What you said was much more surprising, Coach," one girl said, and many of us couldn't help but agree. All she did was allow a small smirk to grace her face and that was all it took for all twenty of us to leave without another word to the coach.

"I think it's 'cause you're back and the semis are right around the corner, Chise," Izumi said as she not so gently hit my back. "Never seen her so content." I simply rolled my eyes and laughed a bit.

It had been nearly a month since I got my cast off and the track season was nearing an end. I guess I should at least be grateful that I'm able to run in the semi-finals and finals if we're lucky enough to make it there. That's all next week though and I know I'm not ready. I stop in my tracks and look back at the track. "Izumi, I'm gonna go practice a bit more, I'm still a bit out of shape." She simply nodded before running to catch up with some of the other girls.

I turned around fully and headed back in the direction I had come. It wasn't really that I was out of shape, it was more that I was scared that I'd do something to mess everything up for all of the other girls. They've been working so hard from the very beginning and all while I was incapacitated. I have to show them that I still care. I picked up my pace as I started jogging around the gates surrounding the rubber infused asphalt that was like my second home. My feet hit the familiar ground and I kept my pace of the simple jog, even though I wanted nothing more than to sprint full out.

Just as I rounded my second lap with that constant pace and just as I was about to pick it up, I heard a too familiar voice call out, "Chi-chan!~" I stopped instantly nearly stumbling to the ground with all of the momentum still working with me.

A small part of me was hoping that I wouldn't hear that voice ever again. Not after having practically ignored him once I was able to run again. When I faced him though, he didn't look upset or anything other than the happy boy that I knew him to be. The people who were with him, however, looked like they were out for blood. "Hello, Honey-sempai!" I called as I waved to him, silently hoping that it was just the dim lighting of the setting sun that made the others look the way they did. I made my way to where they were standing by fence and leaned against it. "What's up, boys?"

"We just wanted to see you, Chi-chan!" Honey replied in his child-like voice. At that, a wave of guilt washed over me. I hadn't been to the host club to see them since I got my cast off. Really, everything that I did with it on were becoming things that I completely avoided. Meaning I hadn't said much to the Hitachiins since that date I had with Kaoru. Even in homeroom, I've been using the hour to catch up on my sleep. The three of us had to know that was going to happen. We are just very different people now with very different interests. It was bound to happen as we grew up. I just never thought that I'd feel so guilty about it.

I smiled my best smile and everyone's faces lightened up a bit. "That was very nice of all of you. I'm sorry I've been a bit distant, but I have to get back in shape for the semi-finals next week and it's kind of been wearing me out." It was an excuse, but hopefully a believable and excusable one because it wasn't a lie.

Tamaki got a huge smile as I said the words. "Then you just need to stop by the host club and relax! You don't want to push yourself too hard before the big day!"

I shook my head. "There's no such thing as pushing yourself too hard right now. I was out for a long time, if I'm not in my best condition for next week, we won't make it to the finals and then we won't even have a chance to place."

Then Hikaru decided to finally say something. "You're going to get yourself hurt again. Then how will it feel knowing you let everyone down? It'll be your fault and imagine how the coach will feel, she wouldn't be happy and neither will your teammates and neither will we!" He was yelling and it was in a tone that he had never used with me before. I knew he was right though, but I didn't want him to be right. Kaoru placed his hand on his brother's shoulder to calm him down and mutter a gentle, "Hikaru."

It shouldn't have happened and I tried to will them away, but I couldn't. The first tear slid down my cheek and they just kept coming after that. He instantly looked apologetic, but I couldn't stop. He voiced everything that was going through my mind when I was out running until I couldn't feel my legs, when I accidentally stumble, when I do more than I know I should. "You don't think I know that? But if I don't push myself then _I _won't be happy." It had been so long since I cried in front of people and I just couldn't stop. I wasn't even sure if I was crying because of his words or his tone or my own thoughts. All I was positive of was that I couldn't face them right now. I turned around and sprinted to the girls' locker room.

A few of the girls were still in there and they greeted me as I went past them, some asked me what was wrong, but I just ignored them and went straight to the shower. Under the hot water, I was able to calm down a bit, but then I felt bad that I had cried in the first place and that it was because of something Hikaru had said. He was just being honest and telling me what he thought. It wasn't anything that I hadn't thought, I just couldn't handle hearing someone else say them out loud.

As the water rushed over me and down the drain, I just felt silly. I had to apologize to Hikaru. After the shower, I quickly changed into my clothes and brushed out my hair. I was going to simply call him and had even pulled out my phone, but then I saw him.

On the bench outside was one red-haired boy looking down at the ground as he pushed invisible dirt around with his shoe. I hadn't seen Hikaru look that sad since we were children and Kaoru had gotten sick. It was the vulnerable side to him that I wasn't used to that made me unable to do anything other than stare at him. The way his hair looked under the artificial light of the lamppost. The way he looked so deep in thought. It was all enough to make my hear pick up speed.

Then he looked up.

We stayed there simply looking at each other for a few moments before I was able to make any effort to get to him. I sat down on the bench next to him and took his hand in mine. He started to say something, but I cut him off before I had any chance to understand what he was saying. "I'm sorry, Hikaru. You didn't do anything wrong, you just said the truth." I looked down at his hand as I played with his fingers and spoke. "I just hate knowing that I let someone down, and today I realized that I let you and Kaoru down."

"Chise, you didn't. You cou-"

"I did," I interrupted. "I did. It's been a while since I got my cast off and I've barely said two words to either of you since then. It's not fair and I'm sorry." I looked up at him then and he smiled at me slightly before pulling me to his chest and wrapping his arms firmly around me. He ran a hand through my hair. I pulled away from him and he looked hurt.

"What's wrong?" he asked. I smiled and shook my head.

"Nothing." I leaned closer to him and kissed his cheek before standing up to get going. "I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?" He nodded and I turned to go.

"Wait, Chise…" I stopped and looked back at him. His eyes were back on the ground and that look of deep thought was back. "Would you wanna maybe go… on a date this weekend… you know, with me?"

A small giggled bubbled up and I instantly covered my mouth as he looked up at me with a hurt expression. "Yes. I would." Then I turned back around and walked to the car that was waiting for me with a smile on my face and a blush on my cheeks.

* * *

**I just want to say that I'm sorry this chapter has taken so long to be finished. I was just having such a hard time with writing (and I became a bit obsessed with Doctor Who and Sherlock…). It wasn't even writer's block; it was "I don't want to do anything creative that involves my brain" block. I was literally unable to write anything over the summer and that had never happened before. What I had originally was complete rubbish before I came up with this and if you happen to think this is bad, you should see what I had before. **

**It has also come to my attention that there are only going to be a couple more chapters of this story since I have an idea in mind for the next few chapters that would lead it to the end. Otherwise it would basically just be a bunch of random things that have nothing to do with anything put in to add length. Once it's done, however, I may write little ficlets involving the twins and Chise, but only if you want and only if it's something I can see getting done in a timely manner. And I didn't mean to write so much here, but oh well. It's something for you to keep an eye out for if you want and something to disregard if you don't. **

**Also, I'm completely sorry if it got a bit repetitive in some parts… I need to get back into the habit of writing. And Hikaru is so OoC, I'm sorry. Please over look these or complain about them, which ever you prefer.**

**I MADE MY SELF-MADE DEADLINE! (Now I have to work on my paper for English...)**

**Happy Halloween! I hope you all got tons and tons of candy while I was sitting in class,  
Megan :)**

**November 1st Edit* I was reading things over and fixed them and reposted the chapter, but it WAS up last night, I swear.**


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